Prime Minister

Cabinet Committees: Arts

Chris Bryant: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will establish a Cabinet Committee on the Arts and Creative Industries.

Mr David Cameron: The Home Affairs Cabinet Committee covers a wide range of domestic policy including the arts and the creative industries. The Government has established the Creative Industries Council, jointly co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Business, Innovation and Skills, with an industry co-chair, Nicola Mendelsohn (Vice-President, Facebook).

Task Forces: Young People

Chris Bryant: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will appoint a Minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Earn or Learn Implementation Taskforce.

Mr David Cameron: Ministers who are not members of an Implementation Taskforce can attend on an ad hoc basis by invitation of the Chair.

Cultural Heritage

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the contribution of 10 June 2015, Official Report, column 1210, what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) ratification of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and (b) implementation of the EU Directive on The Return of Cultural Objects.

Mr David Cameron: The Government is looking at options for introducing the necessary legislation to allow UK ratification of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.Directive 93/7/EEC of 15 March 1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State was implemented in UK law in the Return of Cultural Objects Regulations 1994. This Directive was recast in Directive 2014/60/EU of 15 May 2014, and will be implemented by Government before the deadline of 18 December 2015.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are not expected to work under benefit rules will be affected by the reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000 per annum on the number of children living in a household with an income below 60 per cent of median household income if no additional households move into work.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children who live in households that will be affected by a reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000 per annum.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households with dependent children which will be affected by the reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000 per annum.

Justin Tomlinson: We will publish a full Impact Assessment in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the HM Treasury press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings his Department plans to make to achieve reductions of £105 million in its budget.

Justin Tomlinson: The savings for 2015-16 announced on 4 June 2015 are being achieved through further efficiency savings, tighter control of budgets to drive underspends in year, and driving through asset sales. The Department for Work and Pensions will make £75m efficiency savings in 2015-16 from projects, programmes and services across the department. A further £30m of income will be generated for HM Treasury through an increase in Social Fund debt recoveries. The government is getting on with the job of repairing the public finances, and to run a surplus in this Parliament. This will create the best conditions for sustainable growth.

Access to Work Programme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason reference on the gov.uk website to Access to Work being provided where someone needs support or adaptations beyond the reasonable adjustments which an employer is legally obliged to provide under the Equality Act no longer makes reference to support or adaptations beyond reasonable adjustments; whether this change in wording is due to a change in policy; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: Access to Work pages on Gov.UK have been updated to reflect announcement of forthcoming changes to Access to Work. The statutory duty to make reasonable adjustment for disability remains. The Access to Work pages on Gov.UK contain a link to the following https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers. The legal obligation for employers to make reasonable adjustments is not replaced by Access to Work. This has not changed. Access to Work will make a significant contribution of up to £40,800 per year to meeting individual needs above that level.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many housing benefit claimants have been subject to the under-occupancy penalty in each month since the introduction of that penalty in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Enfield since that legislation was introduced.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is published and can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.ukGuidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html

Housing Benefit: Young People

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people aged 18 to 21 in Wales receive housing benefit; how many such people (a) have children, (b) are disabled and (c) have previously been in local authority care.

Justin Tomlinson: Detailed housing benefit statistics, including those aged 18 to 21 in Wales by number of dependent children, can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html  Information on those households receiving housing benefit and containing someone registered as disabled is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The information requested for those who have previously been in local authority care is not collected on the data available for analysis and therefore is not available.

Social Security Benefits

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to prioritise the protection of social security benefits when evaluating future proposals for departmental expenditure.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government’s commitment to reduce welfare spending was set out in its election manifesto. We have already set out where some of the savings will come from – freezing and capping working age benefits. Further details will be given in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect on productivity of delivering efficiency savings from his Department's budget.

Justin Tomlinson: The savings for 2015-16 announced on 4 June 2015 are being achieved through further efficiency savings, tighter control of budgets to drive underspends in year, and driving through asset sales. As part of the £4.5 billion in-year savings announced by the Chancellor, the Department for Work and Pensions committed to delivering £105m from its £6.7bn budget in 2015-16, of which £75m is from efficiency savings. Departmental productivity is regularly assessed and is published in the Annual Report and Accounts. The government is getting on with the job of repairing the public finances, and to run a surplus in this Parliament. This will create the best conditions for sustainable growth.

Disability Living Allowance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on requiring applications to renew disability living allowance for people with degenerative medical conditions; and what evidence is used by assessors to confirm the degenerative nature of those conditions.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what medical conditions disability living allowance can be awarded to applicants indefinitely.

Justin Tomlinson: Entitlement to DLA is not based on the diagnosis of a disease or whether a person has a degenerative medical condition. DLA is awarded to people who have care and/.or mobility needs because of severe disability. Award lengths are set according to the extent that care and/or mobility needs may change over time. For those with a degenerative condition fixed term awards allow the Department to periodically review, and where necessary, increase the levels of financial support should care/mobility needs have increased. Claims to DLA are dealt with by DWP decision makers, who refer to Departmental guidance the Children’s A-Z of Medical Conditions which sets out the main care and mobility needs likely to arise from different disabling conditions. If necessary, further information is gathered from health professionals dealing with the claimant, or in the case of a child, from their school. DLA can be awarded indefinitely to any claimant depending on their individual circumstances.

Disability Living Allowance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received on requiring parents with multiple children diagnosed with the same medical condition to fill in a disability living allowance application for each child; and if he will bring forward proposals to require such parents to fill in only one application for all their children.

Justin Tomlinson: Our central records do not show that any representations have been made that parents should only have to fill in one application form for their children, Claims to benefits are individual, need may be different for different children at different stages of their illness. We have no plans to change current arrangements.

Disability Living Allowance: Batten Disease

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that people diagnosed with Batten disease receive the fast track service when applying for disability living allowance.

Justin Tomlinson: We aim to clear all claims as quickly as possible. We do not specify which disabilities/diseases should receive a fast-track service. If someone is considered to be terminally ill, that is if their death can reasonably be expected within the next six months, they do not have to satisfy the usual three month qualifying period.

Disability Living Allowance: Batten Disease

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that people diagnosed with Batten disease receive the higher rate of disability living allowance from the point of diagnosis.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that people diagnosed with Batten disease who have successfully applied for disability living allowance receive that allowance indefinitely without any need to renew their application.

Justin Tomlinson: We have no plans to change current arrangements for dealing with claimants with Batten disease. As Batten disease is a progressive condition this means that care and mobility needs will change over time and it is in the interests of the child that we periodically review their claim to ensure the appropriate level of support is always available.

Learning Disability: Employment

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure people with adult learning difficulties (a) receive appropriate support when looking for a job and (b) are supported enough to retain that job once in work.

Justin Tomlinson: Through the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) network across Jobcentre Plus, DWP provides a pan-disability, person centred approach, when supporting disabled people into employment. Advisers receive specific training on Autism and Learning Disabilities; enabling them to offer an appropriate and accessible service when supporting individuals with these conditions into work. The Work-Choice programme provides employment support for all pan-disability groups including individuals with learning disabilities, ensuring reasonable adjustment solutions are identified and put in place, at the earliest stage, ensuring participants are able to meet their full potential on the programme. To support the retention of people with learning disabilities, DWP provides help through the Access to Work scheme, which pays for the additional adjustments that disabled people may require to retain them in the workplace.

Social Security Benefits

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing the benefits cap to £23,000 per annum on (a) young adults, (b) pregnant women, (c) couples with children, (d) veterans and (e) disabled people; and how many households in each of those groups will be affected by that reduction.

Justin Tomlinson: We will publish a full Impact Assessment in due course.

Housing Benefit

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure planned changes to entitlements to housing benefit and local housing allowance do not adversely affect (a) young adults, (b) formerly looked after children, (c) pregnant women, (d) couples with children, (e) veterans and (f) disabled people.

Justin Tomlinson: Any changes to Housing Benefit policy will be subject to a full policy equality assessment to ascertain the impacts on protected groups and ensure compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Scotland are not claiming what value of each benefit and pension entitlement; what proportion of each benefit and pension entitlement is unclaimed by claimants in Scotland; and if he will take steps to transfer the value of unclaimed benefits and pension entitlements to the Scottish Government.

Priti Patel: Estimates of benefit take-up are not available at geographies below Great Britain. This is due to the size of the survey sample they are based on and methods used to generate robust national figures. Following a consultation at July 2012 on the future on the “Income Related Benefits: Estimates for Take-Up” National Statistics series, DWP are planning to publish Experimental Statistics on benefit take-up rates. Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-201213-experimental In February 2012 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up in 2009-10”. The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up

Social Security Benefits

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure all people entitled to benefits and not claiming those benefits are identified and assisted in claiming those benefits.

Priti Patel: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 February 2015 to Question UIN 223115.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority area, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have disputed sanction of their benefit have had that sanction overturned on appeal in each of the last five years.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority area, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have disputed sanction of their benefit have had that sanction overturned after it was reconsidered or successfully appealed in each of the last five years.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority area, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have disputed sanction of their benefit have had that sanction overturned after it was reconsidered in each of the last five years.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority area, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have disputed sanction of their benefit in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions, including the number of Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, is published at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html  Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of lowering the overall benefit cap to £23,000 on the number of children living in a household in (a) London, (b) Enfield and (c) Enfield North constituency with an income below 60 per cent of median household income.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children living in households in (a) London, (b) Enfield and (c) Enfield North constituency that will be affected by a reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households with dependent children in (a) London, (b) Enfield and (c) Enfield North constituency that will be affected by a reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of out of work households in (a) London, (b) Enfield and (c) Enfield North constituency that will be affected by the reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000.

Justin Tomlinson: We will publish a full Impact Assessment in due course.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the recommendations from the peer reviews of deaths which occurred during benefit sanctions.

Priti Patel: Peer Reviews are used to examine whether processes have been followed correctly, and are not used to seek out or apportion blame. Where opportunities for improvement are found, recommendations are made. It is important to appreciate that these reviews do not examine the underlying benefit policy or legislation. DWP has no plans to publish these reports.

Pensions

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to monitor the effect of the new pensions flexibilities.

Justin Tomlinson: The April 2015 reforms have given people with Defined Contribution pension savings greater freedom about how they fund their retirement. The new flexibilities have been in place for two months, and the pensions industry is in the process of designing new products. DWP, HMT and the FCA will continue to actively monitor the market as it develops. HMRC will also monitor the effects of tax flexibilities policy through tax data that they collect. The Government already has the power to limit or ban pensions charges, and if we see that providers are charging excessive fees on these new products we will not hesitate to take action to ensure that consumers receive a good deal.

Housing Benefit: Islington

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for discretionary housing payments were approved in (a) the London Borough of Islington and (b) Islington South and Finsbury constituency in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: No information is held on how many new claims for Discretionary Housing Payment were approved in the London Borough of Islington or the Islington South and Finsbury constituency in each of the last five years. In financial year 2013/14, local authorities were asked to report on the total number of Discretionary Housing Payments awards made but it is unknown how many of these were new claims. The Government’s analysis of Discretionary Housing Payment returns for 2013/14 is available at – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-2013-to-2014

Housing Benefit: Islington

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of discretionary housing payment claimants in (a) the London Borough of Islington and (b) Islington South and Finsbury constituency are in work.

Justin Tomlinson: No information is held on what proportion of Discretionary Housing Payment claimants in the London Borough of Islington or Islington and Finsbury South constituency are in work.

Housing Benefit: Islington South and Finsbury

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were in receipt of a Discretionary Housing Payment in Islington South and Finsbury constituency in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: No information is held on how many people in Islington South and Finsbury constituency were in receipt of a Discretionary Housing Payment in each of the last five years.

Social Security Benefits

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many homeless households living in temporary accommodation would be affected by the reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000 per annum if management fees were exempted from calculation of income from benefits.

Justin Tomlinson: We will publish a full Impact Assessment in due course.

State Retirement Pensions

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of rolling the value of pensioner benefits into the state pension.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government has not made an assessment of the potential merits of rolling the value of pensioner benefits into the state pension. Means tested, disability, care and universal benefits serve different purposes alongside the state pension.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephones

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that all jobcentres provide access to telephones for jobseekers to apply for jobs when no computer is required or the jobseeker is unable to use a computer.

Priti Patel: As part of our Jobcentre modernisation programme we have replaced all Customer Access Telephones with computers. Alongside this we provide an assisted service for claimants who require additional support while using the computers. Claimants who require access to a telephone in connection with their benefit or job search will still be given access to a telephone in a Jobcentre.

Personal Independence Payment

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the implications for his Department's policies are of the ruling in the case of Ms C and Mr W v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others of 8 June 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: The Court rejected two of the three legal grounds brought by the claimants, finding that their human rights had not been breached and not awarding damages. Where the Court found that the historic delay for the two claimants was unlawful, they also ruled that they are not “test cases” and it would be inappropriate to make wider findings. The Court accepted that the Government had made significant improvements to the Personal Independence Payment process and there are now no inherent failings in the system. As a result of these improvements, the average time taken for a claimant to be assessed by an assessment provider has more than halved since June 2014. In March 2015, the average claimant wait was 7 weeks for their PIP assessment - well within the 16 week target set by the Secretary of State.

Home Office

Islamic State: Social Networking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent ISIL using social media outlets to propagate its message.

Mr John Hayes: We are working with responsible social media companies to take robust action against terrorist material from groups like ISIL. Since 2010, over 90,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed at the request of the dedicated Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit.We are pressing social media companies to take stronger, faster and further action to combat the use of their services by groups like ISIL. We want to see a zero tolerance approach to terrorist activity on their networks. Responsible companies are committed to making it easier for users to report terrorist and extremist propaganda. We will encourage companies to produce industry standards for the identification, removal and referral of terrorist activity and will consider further action a necessary.

Handguns

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents involving handguns and pistols were recorded in each year since 1996.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not collect information on the number of incidents involving firearms but does hold information on the number of offences involving firearms recorded by the police.The 2013/14 Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences publication released by ONS showed the number of offences recorded by the police in which a handgun was reported to be the principal weapon has fallen by 1,627 (43%) since 2009/10. Yearly figures from 2002/03 can be found in the following table.Data for pistols (which are a type of handgun) are not separately available, however there is data in the table from 2004/05 for some types of handguns including converted air pistols.



Reported handgun
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.69 KB)

Religiously Aggravated Offences

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for police forces in England and Wales to record anti-Muslim hate crime.

Mike Penning: The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously. We deplore all religious and racially motivated attacks and we are committed to ensuring that the police respond appropriately when they occur. Since 2012 the police have recorded all hate crimes as part of their Annual Data Requirement. The crimes are recorded by motivation – by race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability.We are currently looking at how we can break this data down further. Our comprehensive new Counter- Extremism strategy, which will set out a range of measures to identify and defeat extremism in all of its forms, will be published in the summer.

Police: Cheshire

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were employed in Cheshire in each year since 1997.

Mike Penning: The table provided contains statistics on the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Cheshire Police as at 31 March each year from 1997 to 2014 and as at 30 September 2014 (the latest available figures).As HMIC has made clear, there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.



Full-time equivalent police officers
(Excel SpreadSheet, 10.56 KB)

Bail: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been on bail without charge by police forces in Wales for more than (a) 28 days and (b) three months in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold the data requested. While all four Welsh police forces contributed to the police response to the consultation on pre-charge bail issued in November 2014, that response only covers April 2013 to March 2014 and is not broken down by force. Estimated annual figures for the whole of England and Wales are set out on page 25 of the Government response to the consultation, published on 23 March and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pre-charge-bail-consultation-on-statutory-time-limits-and-related-changes.As part of the Government’s reforms announced on 23 March, all forces will be required to collect data on pre-charge bail to ensure transparency and public accountability. The Government will also legislate in the Police Reform and Criminal Justice Bill to adopt the model endorsed by the consultation, in which pre-charge bail is initially limited at 28 days, with extension of up to three months able to be authorised by a senior police officer in complex cases.

Police: Pensions

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to allow widows and widowers of police officers who died after retirement from the police service to keep their pensions if they re-marry.

Mike Penning: In the Budget on 18 March 2015, the Government announced its intention is to allow widows, widowers and surviving civil partners of police officers who have died on duty and were members of the 1987 Police Pension Scheme to keep their survivor’s benefits if they remarry, form a civil partnership or cohabit. There are no plans for this change to apply to widows and widowers of police officers who have died after retirement.

Computer Misuse Act 1990

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which organisations and individuals have been granted exemptions from the provisions of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Mike Penning: No organisations or individuals have been granted exemptions from the provisions in the Computer Misuse Act 1990.Section 10 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 clarifies the interaction between the use of authorised powers and the Computer Misuse Act offences. It does not extend those powers, confer additional powers, or create new defences for the police, security and intelligence services.

Buildings: Graffiti

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to reduce the level of graffiti appearing on publicly-funded buildings.

Mike Penning: The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 gives local agencies the flexibility to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour in their area. For example, the new Community Protection Notice enables the police, local councils and designated social landlords to deal with particular, ongoing problems and nuisances that negatively impact on the community’s quality of life, which can include graffiti on publicly-funded buildings or other places.

Racial Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to prevent racist attacks on people with young families.

Karen Bradley: The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously and deplores all racially motivated attacks. Crime that is motivated by hostility or hatred towards the victim is particularly corrosive and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families.In 2012, we published a hate crime action plan and a total of 23 actions were dedicated to preventing hate crime. This includes work to tackle racist material on the internet, development of targeted materials to promote community cohesion and reduce racist attacks, and supporting working groups on anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred to tackle negative attitudes towards those groups within communities.Our comprehensive new Counter-Extremism strategy, which will set out a range of measures to identify and defeat extremism in all of its forms, including racial hate crime, will be published in the summer.

Police

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average number of police officers is per head of population in each police force in England and Wales.

Mike Penning: The number of police officers per 100,000 population are published for each police force area in England and Wales in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ release. The latest published figures are as at 31st March 2014.These figures can be found in table 4 of the data tables published alongside the release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tables-for-police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2014.

Deportation: Appeals

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportation appeals in which Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 was cited there were in each of the last five years; and how many such appeals were (a) lost and (b) won by the appellant.

James Brokenshire: The information requested in your question is not held centrally and can only be collated at disproportionate costs.

Illegal Immigrants

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were prosecuted for trafficking and immigration offences following Border Force action in each period for which records exist in each year from 2010 to June 2015; and how many such prosecutions were successful.

James Brokenshire: Immigration Enforcement undertook the following prosecutions (see table below) for trafficking and immigration offences following border action. It is not possible to differentiate between offence type. ProsecutedSuccessfully ProsecutedApril 2014 – March 2015199116April 2015 – 31 May 201510Prosecutions are ongoingPrior to April 2014, the Home Office did not record this data in a reportable format. In order to extract this data each individual case would need to be interrogated and would incur disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Misuse

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of (a) the conclusions of the Global Drug Survey 2015 and (b) progress made to restrict online sales of illegal drugs in 2014.

Mike Penning: The Global Drug Survey provides useful insights into the experience and behaviours of drug users who chose to take part in the survey.The Government and law enforcement agencies take the issue of unlawful advertising and sales of drugs on the internet very seriously, and we continue to work with internet providers to ensure they comply with the law. This can include closure of UK-based websites where they are found to be committing offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.The introduction of our landmark Psychoactive Substances Bill will also target suppliers working in both online and offline markets and give police, other law enforcement agencies and local authorities the power to take action where necessary.

Refugees: Yemen

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Yemeni refugees have settled in the UK since the beginning of the present political and military crisis in Yemen.

James Brokenshire: Fifteen Yemeni refugees have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK on the basis of Settlement Protection since September 2014. Successful asylum applicants are required to complete at least 5 years' Refugee Leave before Indefinite Leave to Remain may be granted.

Electronic Surveillance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any UK police forces use International Mobile Subscriber Identity catchers.

Mike Penning: We do not comment on police use of specific investigative techniques. Investigative activity involving interference with property or wireless telegraphy is regulated by the Police Act 1997 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994 which sets out the high level of authorisation required before the police or security and intelligence agencies can undertake such activity. Use of these powers is overseen by the Intelligence Services Commissioner and the Office of Surveillance Commissioners.

Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government intends to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Karen Bradley: The UK already complies with the vast majority of the articles to the convention including the criminalisation of forced marriage which was one of the pre-requisites of ratification as required by Article 37. Primary legislation will be needed to comply with the remaining extra-territorial jurisdiction provisions in Article 44 of the Convention before it can be ratified. The UK Government is liaising with the devolved administrations about ratification, including any further legislative steps necessary.

Stun Guns: Medical Equipment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risks to people fitted with medical electronic devices of the use by police of tasers; and what steps she has taken to mitigate those risks.

Mike Penning: The medical implications of Taser use are independently assessed by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal weapons (SACMILL) SACMILL’s latest statement can be found at:http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0729/96605%20Library%20Deposit.pdfThe police Authorised Professional Practice on Taser makes clear that before specially trained officers use Taser, there are a number of factors to be considered. These include whether there are any pre-existing medical conditions. The APP also states that all persons who have been subjected to the discharge of a Taser should be examined by a Forensic Medical Examiner (FME) as soon as practicable. Where officers believe that a person to whom a Taser has been applied has a cardiac pacemaker, other implanted device or pre-existing medical condition, an immediate referral should be made to hospital.The guidance can be found at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/armed-policing/conducted-energy-devices-taser/

Northern Ireland Office

Children: Poverty

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential effects of policy announcements made in the Queen's Speech in May 2015 on child poverty in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: Tackling child poverty is a devolved issue. However, this government’s commitment to raise the personal allowance to £12,500 alongside measures to ensure that anyone who works for more than 30 hours on the national minimum wage is taken out of tax altogether will benefit those families most at risk from child poverty. The Government also believes that the introduction of welfare reform in Northern Ireland will help tackle child poverty by ensuring through Universal Credit, that work always pays.

Welfare State: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential effect in Northern Ireland of welfare reform measures announced in the Queen's Speech in May 2015.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: Welfare reform is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. However, the UK Government believes that Northern Ireland would benefit from agreement by the Executive to replace the current welfare system with one that rewards work, protects the vulnerable and is fairer to taxpayers, as we have done in Great Britain.

Department of Health

Midwives: Students

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many student midwives there were in each of the last two years for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer: The following table includes the estimated number of student midwives (degree and diploma courses) for the period 2013-2014. The estimate is based on the number of starters on at training programme and a known attrition rate.   YearNumber of student midwives20136,40520146,567   Source: Health Education England

Midwives: Students

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many training places for student midwives were commissioned in each of the last two years for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer: The following table provides the number of planned midwifery training places for the period 2014-15 to 2015-16 as per the Health Education England workforce plans.   YearPlanned Commissions2014-152,5632015-162,605   Source: Health Education England workforce plan(s) for England 2014-15 and 2015-16 The table includes students enrolled on the degree and 18 month diploma courses.

NHS: Staff

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that there are adequate staffing levels in mental health and community care.

Ben Gummer: The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development.   HEE sets out its commissioning intentions based upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who come together as members of HEE’s Local Education Training Boards (LETBs).   HEE’s national workforce plan for England is an aggregate of local LETB’s plans, but the advice and input of clinical advisors and patient representatives, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders, is also listened to and considered. It is this discussion and involvement locally and nationally that makes this a plan for the whole of the National Health Service in England.

Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects a final decision to be made following completion of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Pneumococcal Sub-committee's review of the adult pneumococcal vaccination programme for (a) over-65s and (b) at-risk groups; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Pneumococcal Sub-committee has been undertaking a review of adult pneumococcal vaccination during 2015. Subject to the availability of the necessary data, it is anticipated that the advice of the Pneumococcal Sub-committee will be considered by the JCVI at their next meeting in October 2015.   As set out in the JCVI Code of Practice, JCVI will consider the advice of the Sub-committee and may decide to issue an interim statement for a short period of consultation with those stakeholders who submitted evidence that informed the Committee’s advice.   The JCVI Code of Practice is available at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224864/JCVI_Code_of_Practice_revision_2013_-_final.pdf

Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation plans to publish a consultation following the conclusion of the Pneumococcal Sub-committee's review of the adult pneumococcal vaccination programme; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: As set out in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Code of Practice, the JCVI will consider the advice of the Sub-committee and may decide to issue an interim statement for a short period of consultation with those stakeholders who submitted evidence that informed the Committee’s advice.   The JCVI Code of Practice is available at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224864/JCVI_Code_of_Practice_revision_2013_-_final.pdf

Dementia: Health Services

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support and guidance is available from his Department and NHS England for families and carers of people with dementia.

Jane Ellison: The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 aims that every person with a diagnosis of dementia, their family and their carer should have access to the advice and information on the care and support available to them locally and how this can be accessed.   The Challenge would like to see, by 2020, more carers of people with dementia being made aware of and offered the opportunity for respite, education, training, emotional and psychological support so that they feel able to cope with their caring responsibilities and to have a life alongside caring. The Challenge would also like to see more employers having carer friendly policies and practice enabling more carers to continue working and caring.   The Department contributed to the funding of the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Dementia Guide’, designed to help guide people with dementia and their carers through their journey with dementia. The Guide provides useful information for carers, following a diagnosis of dementia, and includes advice to help people understand a diagnosis of dementia to enable them to live well with the condition.   There are various resources supported by the Department and NHS England that can be accessed by families and carers. For example the Dementia Roadmap (a web based platform developed by the Royal College of Practitioners) provides high quality information about the dementia journey alongside local information about services, support groups and care pathways, primarily to assist primary care staff to more effectively support people with dementia, their families and carers.   NHS England’s 2015/16 Dementia Enhanced Service encourages general practitioner practices to increase the health and wellbeing support offered to carers of patients diagnosed with dementia.   The Department is supporting the Dementia Action Alliance’s Carers Call to Action and the establishment of a new involvement network for family carers of people with dementia.   Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a responsibility to assess carer’s eligible needs for support. This will mean more carers, including carers of people with dementia, are able to have an assessment, comparable to the right of the people they care for, and a support plan setting out how their needs will be met.

Social Services: Fees and Charges

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to councils on transitioning from Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non-residential social services to the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.

Alistair Burt: The Care and Support Statutory (CASS) Guidance was published in October 2014. Section 23 of the Guidance covers the transition to the new legal framework and paragraphs 23.14 and 23.15 focus on issues for financial assessments. In addition, the Department has arranged for answers to the most frequently asked questions about the CASS Guidance to be published on the Local Government Association’s website.   However, the arrangements under the Care Act are broadly the same as those under the previous legislation. Local authorities design their own local charging policies in consultation with their local population for care outside a care home and have considerable discretion in the design of these policies.

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with postural tachycardic syndrome; if his Department funds research into that condition; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Information on the number of people diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome is not collected centrally.   The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Researchers at the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre have undertaken a study exploring the characteristics of patients with postural tachycardia syndrome in the United Kingdom. The findings were published in the journal BMJ Open in 2014 which is available at:   http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/6/e004127.full   The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including diagnosis and treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Tobacco: Packaging

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the legal challenge on the implementation of the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Product Regulations 2015.

Jane Ellison: The Department has given very careful and measured consideration to all legal aspects of the policy of standardised tobacco packaging and this includes the potential for legal claims and the costs associated with such claims. The Government does not disclose the legal advice it receives but having looked at the evidence considers the public health benefit of standardised packaging to justify these measures and that they are defensible in court.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust: Compensation

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid in compensation for claims in maternity cases by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years; and how many such claims are outstanding.

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid in respect of clinical negligence claims by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years; and how many such claims are outstanding.

Ben Gummer: The table below shows payments made on Maternity Clinical Negligence Claims against Barking Havering and Redbridge from 2009/10 to 2014/15 as at 31 May 2015   Payment YearDamages PaidDefence Costs PaidClaimant Costs PaidTotal Amount Paid2009/10£2,945,024£359,495£777,067£4,081,5862010/11£3,814,530£270,011£740,122£4,824,6632011/12£7,061,628£369,699£851,960£8,283,2872012/13£7,524,775£321,533£1,478,348£9,324,6562013/14£3,943,548£255,823£719,500£4,918,871 Number of outstanding maternity claims :41  Source: NHS Litigation Authority Date: June 2015   The table below shows the payments made on Clinical Negligence Claims against Barking Havering and Redbridge 2009/10 to 2014/15 as at 31 May 2015   Payment YearDamages PaidDefence Costs PaidClaimant Costs PaidTotal Amount Paid2009/10£9,280,196£1,230,552£2,363,201£12,873,9492010/11£11,162,024£927,242£2,849,507£14,938,7732011/12£16,729,679£1,113,497£3,916,178£21,759,3542012/13£12,733,964£953,006£4,698,039£18,385,0092013/14£10,551,781£839,209£2,117,563£13,508,552 Number of outstanding clinical negligence claims: 230 Source: NHS Litigation Authority Date: June 2015

NHS: Temporary Employment

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on agency staff (a) in Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, (b) across London and (c) in England in each of the last four (i) quarters and (ii) years.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is shown in the following tables.   Spending on agency staff over the last four years:   OrganisationTotal Agency Spend (£ million) 2013-142012-132011-122010-11(a) Barking, Havering and RedbridgeUniversity Hospitals Trust27n/an/an/a(b) London- National Health Service trusts334n/an/an/a- Foundation trusts366273229205(c) England- NHS trusts1,082n/an/an/a- Foundation trusts1,3961,113918855   Spending on agency staff over the last four quarters.  OrganisationTotal Agency Spend (£ million)Q1 2014-15Q2 2014-15Q3 2014-15Q4 2014-15(a) Barking, Havering and RedbridgeUniversity Hospitals Trustn/an/an/an/a(b) LondonNHS trustsn/an/an/an/aFoundation trusts95.7101.9107.3111.6(c) EnglandNHS trustsn/an/an/an/aFoundation trusts388.7428.4448.2504.9 n/a: data not available   Notes:   1. Data on net spending on contract and agency staff for NHS trusts (including Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust) is unaudited financial data taken from the NHS Summarisation Schedules and consolidated figures were published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. These data were collected for the first time in 2013/14.   2. The figures for NHS trusts exclude spending on bank staff. Data on temporary/agency staff reported in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts include payments to external bodies such as NHS Professionals for the supply of bank staff, working extra hours at NHS rates of pay. The above table presents data excluding spending on bank staff using unaudited figures for the element of NHS trust expenditure relating to bank staff.   3. NHS trusts existing in 2013/14 were asked to also provide prior year figures (2012/13) for Contract and Agency staff in the NHS Summarisation Schedules. These figures have not been included in the answer as the data provided only includes information from existing 2013/14 NHS trusts, rather than data from all 2012/13 trusts.   4. The prior year figures included in Table C12 of the published accounts have not been included in the answer, as they were compiled on a different basis to the 2013/14 figures. The figures published for 2012/13 for NHS trusts are based on non-permanently employed staff which is defined as “others engaged on the objectives of the organisation and will include staff on inward secondment or loan from other organisations, bank/agency/temporary staff and contract staff.” This reconciles to the figures for those organisations in note 3 (Staff Costs 2012/13), whereas the 2013/14 figures are compiled for the first time under a stricter definition of contingent labour.   5. The figure for 2013/14 Contract and Agency spend staff for all NHS trusts reported in the published accounts under the heading “Temporary/Agency” (Table C12 page 197) is £1.184 billion. This is understated as one organisation did not provide the data, so the answer is based on a higher figure (including spend on bank staff) of £1.209 billion.   6. In the guidance that accompanied the data collection, the definition of Contract / Agency staff is: “Agency” employee payments for the employment of staff where the staff remain employees of the agency and “Contract staff” where the NHS trust has control over numbers and qualifications of staff (in contrast to a service obtained under contract) .   7. Excluded from the “Agency/Contract” category are the costs of staff recharged by another organisation where no element of overhead is included i.e. where the staff costs are shared between the NHS trust and other bodies; staff on secondment or on loan from other organisations; amounts payable to contractors in respect of the provision of services (for example, cleaning or security).   8. Where an NHS trust obtains foundation trust status part way through any year, the data provided is only for the part of the year the organisation operated as an NHS trust.   9. For the first time in 2013/14 the figures for NHS trusts and foundation trusts have been aggregated and published in the Departmental Annual Accounts together under the heading “NHS Providers”. Figures provided separately for either sector will include a small amount of cross-sector transactions that would ordinarily be eliminated if the figures were provided at group level.   10. Data on net spending on agency staff presented for foundation trusts for last four years is audited data from in-year returns of NHS foundation trusts.   11. Data on net spending on agency staff presented for foundation trusts for last four quarters is unaudited data from in-year returns of NHS foundation trusts. It comprises spending on agency and contract staff.   12. Annual data is based on published accounts data. 2014/15 data is expected to be published next month. Quarterly data for 2014/15 is drawn from unpublished in-year returns.

NHS England: Compensation

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England has paid in compensation to patients in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) indemnifies National Health Service organisations in England and many independent sector providers of NHS care against claims.   The NHS LA handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of its members under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). Currently, all NHS trusts in England are members of the CNST.   The amounts paid by the NHS LA to patients under CNST in the last three years where NHS England is the legal defendant are contained in the table below:   PaymentYearDamagesPaidDefence CostsPaidClaimant CostsPaidTotal AmountPaid2011/12£787,905£308,479£1,144,361£2,240,7452012/13£6,015,035£646,217£1,406,681£8,067,9332013/14£4,428,933£981,496£3,330,594£8,741,022   Source: NHS LA

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulances have waited more than 30 minutes outside accident and emergency in (a) Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last four (i) quarters and (ii) years.

Jane Ellison: The information is not collected in the format requested. Information on the number of ambulances that have waited more than 30 minutes outside accident and emergency is available through the winter daily situation reports collected by NHS England each weekday during winter. The data are published on the NHS England website at the following address:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/winter-sitrep-data-2012-13/   These data are not collected on a quarterly or annual basis.

Health and Care Professions Council: Costs

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will instruct the Health and Care Professions Council to reduce costs related to unwarranted investigations and hearings.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the proposed increase in fees charged by the Health and Care Professions Council; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to prohibit fee increases for health professional registrants which exceed those registrants' annual pay awards.

Ben Gummer: The Health and Care Proffessions Council (HCPC) is a self-financing, independent regulator that is accountable to Parliament through the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) who assesses the HCPC’s performance, conducts audits, scrutinises their decisions and reports to Parliament through the Privy Council. Costs are monitored by the regulator’s Council, and the HCPC’s fees remain the lowest of all the professional regulators.   The professional regulators are funded by registrant fees and as independent bodies it is for them to set their fees at a level which ensures they can fulfil their statutory role of protecting, promoting and maintaining the health and safety of the public. We understand that the HCPC decided to raise their registrant fees for a number of reasons: to fund the periodic fee it is required to pay the PSA; to enable the HCPC to operate more flexibly and efficiently; and to ensure the HCPC’s financial viability in the medium to long term.   We have received correspondence from registrants objecting to the proposed fee increase.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time in accident and emergency was (a) in Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, (b) in Queen's Hospital, (c) in King George Hospital, (d) across London and (e) in England in each of the last four (i) quarters and (ii) years.

Jane Ellison: The National Health Service Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) measure accident and emergency waiting times from arrival to assessment, treatment and departure. A table showing the mean and median waiting times for 2010-11 to 2013-14 and quarters 1 to 4 of 2013-14 is below. Data for individual hospital sites are not published. Duration to AssessmentDuration to TreatmentDuration to Departure YearMean(minutes)Median(minutes)Mean(minutes)Median(minutes)Mean(minutes)Median(minutes)Barking, Haveringand RedbridgeUniversity HospitalsNHS Trust2010-1137.51396.388195.11882011-1221.71498.690198.61882012-1319.713100.290201.61862013-1421.51493.883196.6182Quarter 12013-1421.71496.985195.0180Quarter 22013-1421.21492.082186.5177Quarter 32013-1420.61487.476197.4181Quarter 42013-1422.61598.588207.6189London2010-1189.811143.686161.61522011-1238.91189.667150.81432012-1329.41181.662155.81462013-1458.81186.561166.9146Quarter 12013-1453.91188.163163.1145Quarter 22013-1454.41185.260158.6142Quarter 32013-1460.21284.660168.8146Quarter 42013-1466.61388.063177.0152England2010-1164.51098.458145.71302011-1233.1875.452138.21252012-1330.3874.053141.41282013-1438.2970.251144.6129Quarter 12013-1435.7970.852143.2127Quarter 22013-1437.4869.550139.5125Quarter 32013-1439.3869.350145.5130Quarter 42013-1440.4971.052150.3132   Source: HES, HSCIC.   Notes:   1. Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.   2. Mean and Median: The mean (average) and median (middle in ranking when all values are sorted in order) duration in minutes to assessment, treatment or duration.   3. Duration to assessment: This is the total amount of time in minutes between the patients’ arrival and their initial assessment in the accident and emergency (A&E) department. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient is initially assessed.   4. Duration to treatment: This is the total amount of time in minutes between the patients’ arrival and the start of their treatment. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient began treatment.   5. Duration to departure: This is total amount of time spent in minutes in an A&E department. This is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient is discharged from A&E care. This includes being admitted to hospital, dying in the department, discharged with no follow up or discharged and referred to another specialist department.   6. London area: For years 2011-12 and 2012-13, this data covers all trusts within the London Strategic Health Authority. For 2013-14, all trusts located within the London Area Team are included.   7. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage and changes in NHS practice.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people attended accident and emergency (a) in Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, (b) in Queen's Hospital, (c) in King George Hospital, (d) across London and (e) in England in each of the last four (i) quarters and (ii) years.

Jane Ellison: The information is not collected in the format requested. Information on the number of attendances in Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, London NHS Trusts and in England for the last four quarters and in the years 2011-12 to 2014-15 are provided in the tables below. Data is not available for individual hospital sites. Queen’s Hospital and King George’s Hospital are part of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust – attendances at these hospital sites are included within the figures for the Trust.   Accident and emergency (A&E) attendances, Quarter 1 to Quarter 4 2014-15   QuarterEnglandLondonBarking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust2014-15 Q15,797,9001,173,86064,9712014-15 Q25,604,2391,103,69462,0542014-15 Q35,387,6781,159,07266,7122014-15 Q45,387,6781,122,20962,634   A&E attendances by year, 2011-12 to 2014-15   YearEnglandLondonBarking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust2011-1221,481,4024,433,336219,2082012-1321,738,6374,506,904247,3732013-1421,778,6574,510,123243,8952014-1522,363,6384,558,835256,371   Source: A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions, NHS England   Note: For years 2011-12 and 2012-13, this data covers all trusts within the London Strategic Health Authority. For years 2013-14 and 2014-15, all trusts located within the London Area Team are included.

Anorexia: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the British Medical Association and other medical bodies the use of electrical probes to help cure anorexia.

Alistair Burt: It is for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to provide guidance to clinicians on the use of treatments for specific conditions.

Dementia: Milk

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the British Medical Association the potential benefits of drinking milk to help prevent dementia.

Jane Ellison: Healthcare in Northern Ireland lies under the responsibility of the Northern Irish Executive.   Improving the treatment and care of people with dementia, reducing the incidence of dementia and improving dementia research, is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015.   Information on milk and dementia was published on the NHS Choices website following media reports, and is available at the following address:   http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/03March/Pages/Milk-and-dairy-good-for-the-brain-claim-unproven.aspx.   My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had and continues to have discussions about dementia with a range of organisations including the British Medical Association.

Department of Health: Public Expenditure

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what efficiency savings he plans to make to meet planned reductions of £200 million in his Department's budget.

Alistair Burt: As part of wider Government action on deficit reduction, the Department will deliver savings of £200 million in 2015/16 from a reduction in the Local Government Public Health Grant. We will be consulting on the best way of delivering the savings that need to be made.

Children: Day Care

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure that looked after children have access to specialist mental health support.

Alistair Burt: The Department of Health and the Department for Education jointly published Promoting the health and well-being of looked-after children: Statutory guidance for local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and NHS England on 17 March 2015. This includes guidance for clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and NHS England to ensure that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and other services provide targeted and dedicated support to looked-after children according to need.

Hearing Impairment: Mental Health

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote good mental health among deaf people.

Alistair Burt: Promoting good mental health is a key strategic objective of Public Health England’s (PHE) public mental health programme, alongside preventing mental illness and improving the lives of those living with mental illness. PHE’s ambition is that everyone has the ability to achieve good mental health, which includes those who are deaf or have hearing loss.   During 2015, PHE has published a framework for building workforce skills in order to promote good mental health; a guide to evidence-based approaches for developing mentally healthy communities; and established the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, an independent centre dedicated to making policies and services work for wellbeing, all of which underpin PHE’s ambitions in this area.   At a local level, health and wellbeing boards are responsible for developing an analysis of the current and future health and care needs of the local population through their Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA). Health and wellbeing boards, and the JSNA process that they oversee, offer valuable opportunities to drive improvements in meeting the needs of local people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment.   An increasing number of councils are seeing investment in public health as an investment in both physical and mental health. This includes ensuring that all major public health programmes consider and assess the impact on mental health.   Department of Health officials have begun identifying and taking forward actions on how we can provide therapeutic support to Deaf people. In the meantime, we expect clinical commissioning groups to recognise the importance of commissioning Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services that are accessible to British Sign Language users and Deaf people more generally.

General Practitioners

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2014, Official Report, columns 54-7W, on general practitioners, how many GP practices (a) closed and (b) opened in (i) England, (ii) Greater London and (iii) Enfield between August 2014 and May 2015.

Alistair Burt: The Health and Social Care Information Centre collect information on the number of practices opened and closed, which is contained in the following table.   It is important to note that these figures also include practice mergers and takeovers and do not provide an accurate representation of activity or service provision. In many cases, practices listed in these figures as having closed, will have in fact merged and will continue to see patients. In addition, in this time period the definition of general practice has changed to become a more stringent classification.   Practices opened and closed between 1 August 2014 to 31 May 2015 inclusiveOpenedClosedEngland28138NHS London118NHS Enfield00   Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP appointments took place (a) in working hours, (b) during the evening and (c) at weekends in (i) Barnsley, (ii) South Yorkshire and (iii) England in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: Data about the number of general practitioner (GP) appointments that have taken place is not held centrally.   The Government is committed to improving access to GP and primary care services. We have invested £175 million in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund (including £25 million sourced from the £1 billion Infrastructure Fund), to test improved and innovative access to GP services. This includes longer opening hours – such as evening and weekend hours – but also different ways of accessing services, for example telephone and Skype consultations. Across two waves of the Fund, 57 schemes will be set up covering over 2,500 practices. There are two wave two GP Access Fund schemes currently being mobilised in South Yorkshire, in Barnsley and Sheffield.

General Practitioners

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP practices there were in the last month for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: According to data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, there are 7,935 general practitioner practices in England as at 31 May 2015.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust: Standards

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust in meeting demand for treating patients referred for mental health conditions.

Alistair Burt: The Department has made no such assessment.

Self-harm: Young People

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under the age of 18 were admitted to hospitals in England and Wales for incidents of self-harm in 2014.

Alistair Burt: There were 19,577 finished admission episodes of people aged 0-17 admitted to hospitals in England and Wales in which an external cause of intentional self-harm or self-poisoning was listed between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014.   A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in hospital episode statistics (HES). Recording of external cause is not mandatory and recording practice varies over time and regionally, care should be used when interpreting this data.   Source: HES data 2013-14

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how purdah arrangements during election periods apply to staff working for NHS England and NICE.

Jane Ellison: The guidance from the Cabinet Office released for the 2015 General Election states that the arrangements for the pre-election period apply “to all UK civil servants, and the board members and staff of non-departmental public bodies and other arm’s length bodies.” This applies to both NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as arm’s length bodies of the Department.

Drugs: Health Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps Public Health England is taking to increase awareness among young people of (a) emerging psychoactive substances and (b) other recreational drugs associated with nightlife.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has an on-going programme of work to support local authorities as they commission local services and interventions for drug problems in their areas, including services for young people and new psychoactive substances (NPS). Part of this work has been producing a toolkit to help local authorities to tackle NPS use.   PHE is responsible for FRANK, the Government’s drug information service. FRANK provides young people in England with free, confidential advice and information about drugs, including the harms of NPS and club drugs, and has tips on how to resist peer pressure to experiment.   Working with young people, PHE has developed Rise Above, an innovative programme designed to improve health outcomes for 11-16 year olds by building their resilience. Rise Above helps develop skills that young people can use not to feel pressured into risk taking behaviours (including avoiding drug use) and making positive choices for their health.   PHE is also working with other Government departments on a wide-ranging work programme on NPS, which was outlined in the Government’s response to the expert panel’s review of new psychoactive substances in October 2014.

Carers

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will maintain its funding for carers; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Spending on social care is a local decision made by individual councils. There is no specific Departmental grant relating to carers and as such funding for carer support is ultimately a local decision. There are however a number of legal duties and non-ring-fenced monies specifically earmarked for carer support that set expectations, as set out below.   This year, the Better Care Fund will provide £5.3 billion of investment in better integrated care, based on joint plans that have been developed locally and putting resources where the local National Health Service and social services think it is needed. Social care protection is a national condition of the Better Care Fund – no plan has been approved without clear proof of this. The plans also set out how much will be spent collectively on carer-specific services.   Under the Care Act, local authorities have a duty to assess carers and meet their eligible needs for support, putting them on an equal footing with the people they care for. Local authorities will also be able to meet needs which are not considered eligible. The Department of Health has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16. The majority of funding for implementation of these and other rights under the Care Act will be in the Better Care Fund (with some coming from a separate grant).   The Department of Health has also made available additional funding of £400 million to the NHS between 2011 and 2015 to enable carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The carers’ breaks funding of £130 million for 2015 – 16 will also be in the Better Care Fund.   The Department for Education has also separately provided £800 million funding to local authorities to fund short breaks for disabled children and their families.   Funding for adult social care from 2016/17 onwards will be decided at this year’s spending review.

Health: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the £200 million reduction in his Department's budget announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 4 June 2015 on former NHS services that were transferred to local authorities as part of the transfer of public health functions in 2013; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that reduction on local authority (a) sexual health services, (b) smoking cessation services and (c) health screening.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to make the £200 million of savings announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 4 June 2015 that will be made from his Department's non-NHS budget from underspend.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of recently announced changes to public health funding on public health initiatives on (a) exercise, (b) obesity, (c) smoking cessation and (d) sexual health.

Jane Ellison: We will shortly publish a consultation on how best to implement these savings in ways that minimise any impact on front-line services.

Diabetes

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NICE on updated draft clinical guidelines by NICE for the management of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in adults; what representations he has received on those guidelines; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: We have had no recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about the updated draft clinical guidelines currently in development on types 1 and 2 Diabetes in adults. The Department is a stakeholder in the development of all NICE guidance and, in common with other stakeholders, is able to comment on NICE’s guidance at several stages of the guidance development process. The Department has received one piece of correspondence concerning NICE’s updated guideline on type 2 Diabetes. NICE is an independent body and its guidance is based on a thorough and transparent assessment of the available evidence and is developed through wide consultation with stakeholders.

Health: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget for (a) Public Health England and (b) public health for all local authorities is for 2015-16.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England has a net operating budget of £315.2 million for 2015/16.   The original local authority public health allocations were on 14 December 2014 and are available at the following address:   https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/388172/final_PH_grant_determination_and_conditions_2015_16.pdf   We will shortly be publishing a consultation on how best to implement the £200 million savings to local authority public health budgets, and revised allocations will be published in due course.

Chlorine Dioxide

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Food Standards Agency has taken to investigate the effects of the promotion of chlorine dioxide as a food supplement; and if he will make a statement.

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the risk to children from the promotion of chlorine dioxide as a food supplement or cure for autism; and if he will make a statement.

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the National Crime Agency has taken to investigate the potential harm to children posed by the promotion of chlorine dioxide as a food supplement or cure for autism; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Local authorities have made the Food Standards Agency (FSA) aware of a number of cases where chlorine dioxide has been marketed for sale as “Miracle Mineral Solution” (MMS). The FSA is working with the Department, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and local authorities to investigate these cases and protect the public.   The FSA along with the Department and MHRA are joining together to highlight and warn consumers of the dangers of consumption of these products. The FSA has worked hard to raise awareness of the dangers of MMS through its communications channels and has previously warned the public about this product on its website at:   http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2012/5206/cdswarning   The National Crime Agency is not investigating the sale of chlorine dioxide. It is not a controlled drug under drugs precursor chemicals legislation. The safety of food supplements is covered by general food law and therefore it must be safe and not cause injury.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have had their personal medical data shared despite registering to opt-out; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: By working with general practitioner (GP) IT system suppliers on numbers of objection codes, the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has been able to make an initial estimate that around 700,000 patients have lodged an objection with their GP practice to HSCIC sharing their personal confidential data. However, this is an estimate and, as yet, no extraction of objection codes from GP practice IT systems has been undertaken.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Sign Language: Further Education

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he plans to reduce funding for further education institutions offering British Sign Language qualifications.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will convene a cross-departmental working group to address the implications of the reduction in the number of people achieving a further education qualification in British Sign Language between 2007 and 2014; if he has had discussions with (a) the Minister for Disabled People and (b) other Ministers about the adequacy of supply of sign language interpreters and other communication and language professionals who work with deaf and deafblind people; and if he will meet the charity and awarding body Signature to discuss those matters.

Nick Boles: The majority of the Department’s £450m savings will be delivered through known underspends and releasing unallocated funding. Officials in my department are working with the appropriate funding bodies to determine how savings can best be achieved in line with ministers’ priorities. All spending decisions for 2016-17 and beyond will be taken as part of the Spending Review, the timetable for which is yet to be finalised.   On 12 March, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) issued a statement setting out plans to work with deaf people and stakeholder groups to undertake a market review of British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation provision to explore long term improvements in the market. My officials are working with DWP counterparts to develop this work. We will await the outcomes of the review before deciding if a cross-departmental working group is the best way forward to consider what changes can be implemented.   I have not had the opportunity to discuss this with my right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People, or other Ministers, but would expect to do so in due course. I would be pleased to meet with Signature to discuss this further once the findings from the market review are known.

Employment: Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will assess the implications for his Department's policy on ensuring that disabled people gain employment of the in-year funding reductions announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for his Department on 4 June 2015.

Nick Boles: We remain committed to ensuring the skills system operates effectively to support learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The majority of the Department’s £450m savings will be delivered through known underspends and releasing unallocated funding. Officials in my department are working with the appropriate funding bodies to determine how savings can best be achieved in line with ministers’ priorities.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what provision he plans to make in the sale of the remaining public stake of Royal Mail for shares to be made available to retail investors directly; and what evidence he has consulted or research he has commissioned in relation to that option.

Anna Soubry: As was the case for the recent sale, any future sales would require us to work with advisers to consider our sale options and assess which one best meets the stated sale objectives.   However, at any time, Royal Mail shares are directly available to retail investors as they are freely traded on the stock market.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 1 September 2014 (HC Deb C666W), by what date he plans to make a decision on the payment of the discretionary fee and the length of the stabilisation period following the privatisation of Royal Mail.

Anna Soubry: No decision has been made on the payment of this discretionary fee.   The stabilisation period has been completed.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans to seek and identify priority investors in respect of its sale of the remaining public stake in Royal Mail; and whether he intends to prioritise long-term investors in that sale.

Anna Soubry: The accelerated book build process, used in the recent sale, did not involve the concept of priority investors in the same way as a typical Initial Public Offering process would. There was not a need for early engagement by potential investors.   All leading long term investors were invited to bid for shares.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which banks or syndicate of banks are (a) advising the Government and (b) overseeing the sale of the remaining public stake in Royal Mail; and whether any other banks, institutions or firms have involvement in that process.

Anna Soubry: The Government has appointed Rothschild to provide independent financial advice and Freshfields to provide external legal advice. The syndicate of banks were Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what safeguards he plans to put in place in relation to the sale of the remaining public stake in Royal Mail in light of the reports into the privatisation of Royal Mail in 2013 of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, National Audit Office and the Noble Lord Myners; and which specific recommendations of those reports he plans to adopt directly.

Anna Soubry: These reports related to the Royal Mail Initial Public Offering. The recent sale of shares was through an accelerated bookbuild process to institutional investors.

Further Education: Finance

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on reducing spending of 4 June 2015, if he will make it his policy to maintain the existing level of funding to further education colleges over the next five years.

Nick Boles: The majority of the Department’s £450m savings will be delivered through known underspends and releasing unallocated funding. Officials in my department are working with the Skills Funding Agency to determine how Further Education savings can best be achieved in line with ministers’ priorities. All spending decisions for 16-17 and beyond will be taken as part of the Spending Review, the timetable for which is yet to be finalised.

Mature Students

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) women and (b) men aged 24 and over, were enrolled in further education courses at level 3 or above in each academic year since 2010.

Nick Boles: Table 1 shows the number of learners aged 24+ participating in further education courses at Level 3 or above from 2009/10 to 2013/14.   Table 1: FE and Skills participation at Level 3+ and ages 24+, 2009/10 to 2013/14  2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Male161,200136,200128,000139,300100,900Female286,200238,600247,600285,100207,700Total Learners (24+) 447,400  374,900  375,600  424,400  308,600  Notes: 1) The source is the Individualised Learner Record. 2) This tables includes Apprenticeships, Workplace Learning, Community Learning and Education and Training provision (including the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service) taken at General Further Education Colleges (including Tertiary), Sixth Form Colleges, Special Colleges (Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges), Specialist Colleges and External Institutions. 3) Volumes are rounded to the nearest hundred. 4) Age and gender are based upon self-declaration by the learner.

Scottish Power

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will reopen the inquiry into the nature of the warranties sold by ScottishPower to its customers between 1980 and 1999 and potential losses to those customers.

Anna Soubry: I am aware of concerns regarding the warranties sold by Scottish Power. The Insolvency Service has reviewed information from the liquidators of two companies that administered warranties sold between 1997 and 2001, in order to determine whether or not further investigation is warranted using powers available in the Companies Act.   Investigations conducted under section 447 Companies Act 1985 are confidential, so it is not usually possible to announce whether an investigation is taking place. I can say that in practical terms an investigation of warranties sold between 1980 and 1999 is unlikely to be able to recover meaningful evidence.

Ministry of Defence

NATO: Telecommunications

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many communication systems are used by NATO; how many such systems have the capability to interoperate with UK systems in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK considers NATO at the heart of Defence planning assumptions and interoperability with NATO information systems is a key UK Defence requirement. NATO employs many different communication systems to provide telephone, VTC, E-mail and data sharing services both between the NATO command structure, national level Headquarters and in deployed locations. It is not possible to determine the number of communication systems used by NATO, owing to the diverse number of members and the communication systems they use.Interoperability between NATO nations is achieved through compliance with commonly agreed technical standards and protocols rather than system specific solutions.As such, the UK is firmly embedded in the NATO led planning for the Federated Mission Networking (FMN) solution and Connected Forces Initiative (CFI). The FMN is a NATO initiative to improve interoperability and information sharing amongst Alliance members through adherence to common standards for deployable communication systems. The CFI will allow UK and other partner nations to work together and exchange information more freely when not deployed on operations.The UK is now beginning to employ the JACKDAW communication system to provide a mission configurable capability that will support interoperability with NATO Allies and also bringing an increasing amount of NATO applications into service to enhance interoperability. JACKDAW will be compliant with the NATO FMN initiative and will be configurable to match the security classification needs of the operation. JACKDAW will be the communication system that provides interoperability for UK naval forces and NATO Allies for the NATO Readiness Force 16 (NRF 16) period.The UK acts as the framework nation for the multinational Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Headquarters (HQ ARRC) based in the UK. The ARRC utilises the MAGPIE communication system hosting core NATO applications which provides interoperability with the NATO Command Structure and its NATO partners. Technical interoperability is validated through NATO led exercises such as Exercise STEADFAST COBALT that also test procedural interoperability and readiness for future operations. It is planned that MAGPIE will be replaced by JACKDAW in due course.

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited to each reserve force in each nation and region of the UK in each month of (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier: The following table represents the stationed location of Armed Forces personnel when they join the Reserve forces, as recorded in the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. This does not necessarily represent where personnel reside or where they have been recruited; it is possible for personnel to be recruited in one country and then be stationed elsewhere in the UK. A breakdown by region is not available.  Intake into UK Reserve Forces (trained and untrained) by Service and Stationed Country, January 2014 to March 2015  Total intakeEnglandWalesScotlandNorthern Ireland Maritime Reserve January 20149080~10~February 20148060-20-March 2014150110102010April 20147060~10~May 20147060-10~June 20146060~~~July 20147060-10~August 20144030~~~September 20146050-~~October 2014120100~10~November 20147060-10~December 20143020-10-January 201510080~10~February 20157050~10~March 201510070-20~ Army Reserve January 2014430340304020February 2014300240203010March 2014330260203010April 2014300240203020May 2014280220203010June 2014360260405020July 2014390290404030August 2014330250204010September 2014440340305020October 2014520410405010November 2014590460406020December 2014390300403030January 2015620450508040February 2015500390405020March 2015490370406020 RAF Reserves January 20143020-10~February 201410080~10~March 20145040-~10April 20143020~~~May 20142020---June 20148060~20~July 20145030-~10August 20147040-20-September 20144030~10~October 20145030~~10November 201480501010~December 20142020~~~January 2015150100102020February 201580502010~March 2015706010~~ Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Totals and sub-totals are rounded separately and may not equal the sum of their rounded parts. ‘-‘ denotes zero and ‘~’ denotes 5 or fewer. Intake figures are derived from Future Reserve 2020 (FR20) programme monitoring statistics which are based on month-on-month comparisons of strength. These figures comprise any intake into the FR20 trained and untrained populations, including personnel transferring from the Regular Armed Forces and any other Reserve population not included in FR20.

Armed Forces: Training

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many joint training sessions involving reserve and regular forces took place in each month in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; how many (i) reserve and (ii) regular service personnel attended each such session; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Royal Naval Reserve trains with Royal Navy Regulars and other Front Line Command regular forces on both joint exercises and training courses. Major joint exercises involving regular and reserve Maritime Forces include Exercise TRIDENT JAGUAR and Operation COUGAR, while joint training courses are routine business. The British Army is now a fully integrated force. Every Army Reserve unit is paired with a regular unit, providing opportunities for joint training at both the individual and collective level. Over the last year, Army Reserve units with embedded Regular personnel have conducted 23 overseas training exercises in nine countries, including USA, Denmark and Cyprus. As part of the whole force approach, the Royal Air Force aims to exercise in a joint regular/reserve environment as often as possible. Appropriate personnel participate in exercises, irrespective of whether they are regular or reserve.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many BTEC qualifications were obtained by members of the cadet forces in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The number of BTEC qualifications obtained by Cadets over the last five academic years is as follows: 2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-146,3475,1685,8246,0349,251 In addition, the Air Cadet Organisation is responsible for delivering the BTEC (Level 2) qualification in aviation. The number of these qualifications awarded to cadets in the Air Training Corps is as follows: 201020112012201320142,4043,0082,4662,4372,329

Future Large Aircraft

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many A400M aircraft are available for use by UK armed forces; what the current status is of each of those aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Royal Air Force has taken delivery of two A400M Atlas aircraft both of which are available for training and operational flying duties. A total of 22 aircraft have been ordered, with the final delivery expected in the second half of 2018.

France: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will lead the joint French-UK Reaper training; and where that training will take place.

Mr Philip Dunne: We routinely discuss with France our respective ISTAR capability requirements, including with regards to Reaper. However, no decision has been made on leading joint Reaper training, nor on where any training might take place.

Armed Forces: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people from (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire served in each branch of the armed forces in each of the last five years; and how many such people are currently serving.

Mark Lancaster: Information about how many Service personnel were recruited from specific towns and areas is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Chiefs of Staff: Marines

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that a Royal Marine officer can become Chief of the Defence Staff.

Mark Lancaster: There are no restrictions on a Royal Marine Officer becoming Chief of the Defence Staff.

RAF Lyneham

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the level of noise emanating from Defence Technical Training College at Lyneham.

Mark Lancaster: An assessment of the anticipated noise levels from the move of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to Ministry of Defence Lyneham as part of the Defence College of Technical Training is nearing completion as part of the site design and planning permission process with Wiltshire Council. The noise levels will be routinely monitored following the commencement of training.

RAF Lyneham

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to train aircraft marshalls at Defence Technical Training College, Lyneham using redundant Jaguars; and what assessment he has made of the level of noise resulting from such testing.

Mark Lancaster: There is currently no commitment to train Aircraft Marshals using redundant Jaguars at Ministry of Defence Lyneham. Should such a commitment be made, a further noise assessment will be conducted.

Air Force: Training

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether adequate training for aircraft marshalls could be achieved using aircraft mock-ups.

Mark Lancaster: Aircraft Marshals are currently trained using a combination of static aids and aircraft. Aircraft are required in some scenarios in order to provide a realistic training experience.

Tornado Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Tornado GR4 aircraft have been fitted with a collision warning system; and whether or not the software problems associated with the RA mode in that system have been resolved.

Mr Philip Dunne: To date, the Honeywell Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) II has been fitted in 18 Tornado GR4 aircraft. TCAS II is now operable in both resolution advisory and traffic advisory modes.

HMS Victory

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to progress the salvage of HMS Victory 1744.

Mark Lancaster: The wreck site of HMS Victory (1744) is not subject to a salvage operation. Officials are reviewing the Maritime Heritage Foundation's project design for recovery and curation of her cultural artefacts.

Future Large Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take to review the airworthiness certification regime of the A400m programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: The A400M Atlas transport aircraft is being procured as part of a European collaborative programme, and its certification basis is explicitly defined in the multinational acquisition contract.The A400M Atlas' certification basis is drawn principally from recognised civil standards, with additional military certification as necessary for any specific military capabilities. The certification basis is overseen by the European Aviation Safety Agency, and is in accordance with established international airworthiness standards. The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted Type Certificates for the A400M aircraft type, engine and propeller.To obtain these Type Certificates, Airbus Defence and Space (the A400M Atlas Design Authority) had to present appropriate evidence for validation and approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency. In addition, certification evidence is also reviewed by an independent certification and qualification organisation established by the partner nations to provide an additional level of military certification expertise.A400M Atlas is already subject to a rigorous, independent certification process that has been accepted by all participating nations, and that is conducted by a competent European regulatory body with significant lineage in the certification of all Airbus aircraft products. They will review certification requirements and the associated evidence when there is new information to consider. Consequently, there are currently no plans to review this.

Future Large Aircraft: Accidents

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will prepare and publish a report on the causes of the recent crash of an A400m aircraft in Spain after the Spanish authorities have concluded their investigations.

Mr Philip Dunne: The investigation by Spanish judicial and air accident investigation authorities into the A400M crash on 9 May 2015 is ongoing, and it would not be appropriate to make any comment prior to its conclusion.Once complete, the outcome of that investigation will be reviewed to determine whether any further action is considered necessary.Immediately after the crash the Ministry of Defence (MOD) temporarily paused flying its two A400M aircraft until more was known about the crash. I can confirm that the MOD is content that it now understands the likely cause of the crash and has put in place procedures to allow a safe return to flight and, as a consequence, UK A400M aircraft were cleared to return to flight on 15 June 2015.

Afghanistan: Nimrod Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implication for his Department's proposals of the conclusions of the review into the broader issues surrounding the loss of the RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan in 2006 by Charles Haddon-Cave.

Mark Lancaster: The Military Aviation Authority (MAA) was established in response to the recommendations made by Mr Justice Haddon-Cave in his Nimrod Review, which called for a radical overhaul of Military Air Safety regulation.During 10-21 November 2014 an external audit team examined the MAA looking at its effectiveness as a regulator. MAA External Audit Panel 2014 (MEAP 14) assessed that the MAA is an effective air safety regulatory body, fit for purpose in its current role, with the opportunity to improve further as it continues to develop. MEAP 14 was satisfied that the remaining Nimrod Review recommendations have been implemented as intended, and that risks identified in previous audits have been addressed. The establishment of the MAA as an independent regulator has transformed the Department's approach to military air safety governance, with a focus on mitigating Risk to Life through the establishment of the aviation Duty Holder construct; the publication of concise, unambiguous and readily accessible regulations; a new regime for safety cases, aircraft type certification and release to service; and the establishment of an independent air accident investigation branch which has so far investigated 21 air safety occurrences and made over 460 recommendations to improve air safety.MEAP 14 is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/search?q=MEAP+14

Department for Communities and Local Government

Armed Forces: Council Tax

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what council tax relief is available to members of the armed forces posted abroad who leave their homes vacant until their return.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Ministry of Defence administers a council tax relief scheme which provides a lump-sum payment to service personnel who pay council tax for a property in the UK while they are on operational deployments overseas.

Regional Planning and Development: North of England

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure that economic benefits accruing from the Northern Powerhouse policy are felt in every town and city in the region.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) Huddersfield and (b) other smaller towns and cities benefit from policies introduced as part of the Northern Powerhouse policy.

James Wharton: Creating a Northern Powerhouse enables the North to reach its full potential as a driving force in the UK economy. Investing in science and technology, transport, digital and innovation, culture and tourism across the region – in cities, towns and counties – alongside devolving power, will give the North a powerful new voice.

Business Improvement Districts

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to improve the transparency of operation of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs); and what his policy is on increasing the powers made available to BIDs.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 15 June 2015



We are currently consulting to improve the transparency of the operation of Business Improvement Districts. The consultation also includes proposals to increase powers available to them including simplifying the Neighbourhood Planning process and giving them the power to use the Community Right to Challenge.

Building Regulations

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether independent oversight is in place to assure the day-to-day standard of work undertaken by approved inspectors of the compliance of new homes with building regulations.

James Wharton: CICAIR Limited, the body designated to carry out the Secretary of State's executive and administrative functions in respect of approved inspectors, assesses the qualifications and experience of bodies applying to be approved inspectors and when re-approvals are made. It also carries out periodic audits of the general performance of approved inspectors. CICAIR also has processes in place to deal with complaints made against approved inspectors relating to performance on a particular job.

Building Regulations

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many cases have been brought under section 35 of the Building Act 1984 in cases where new build homes contravene building regulations in the last 10 years; and how many such cases have resulted in the imposition of fines.

James Wharton: This information is not held centrally.

Building Regulations

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities delegate in full the function of ensuring building regulation compliance to approved inspectors who are approved and monitored by the Construction Industry Council.

James Wharton: Local authorities are required under section 91 of the Building Act 1984 to provide a building control service in their own name. It is permissible for a local authority to sub-contract some aspects of provision of the service to outside bodies but not to delegate responsibility to provide a full service.

Building Regulations

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps are in place to enable new home purchasers to see the detailed records made by approved inspectors responsible for ensuring technical building regulation standards are met during the construction of a new home.

James Wharton: Where an approved inspector is the building control body it is required to send certain notices to the relant local authority. The local authority must keep these on a public reguister so they will be available to new home purchasers. However, there are no requirements for approved inspectors to make publicly available all the records of their checking activities.

Construction Industry Council

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policy of the Consumer Industry Council's response to the recommendations made by the Ankers Report published in 2013.

James Wharton: The Department is not aware of a response to the Ankers Report by the Consumer Industry Council. The Department welcomed the Ankers report and is pleased to note that CICAIR has carried out some of the recommendations already and is making good progress with others.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities meet the statutory duties imposed on them by the Counter Terrorism Act 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Inheritance Tax

John Stevenson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the amount of inheritance tax that has been avoided by the use of Deed of Variations in the tax year (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested is not available.   In the March 2015 Budget the Government announced that it would undertake a review of how deeds of variation are used for tax purposes. The findings from this review will be reported in the Autumn.

Working Tax Credit: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Wales are in receipt of working tax credit; and what the average weekly award is.

Owen Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Wales are in receipt of the childcare element of working tax credit; and what the average weekly award is.

Owen Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Wales are in receipt of the child tax credit; and what the average weekly award is.

Owen Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Wales are in receipt of child benefit; and how many receive benefit for (a) one, (b) two and (c) three or more children.

Damian Hinds: The number of families in receipt of Working Tax Credit (WTC) in Wales can be found on Table 1a of the publication ‘Personal tax credits: Finalised award statistics - geographical statistics 2013 to 2014’ available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014. The number of families benefitting from the childcare element in Wales, as well as the average weekly value of the award, can be found on Table 1b of the publication ‘Personal tax credits: Finalised award statistics - geographical statistics 2013 to 2014’ available here:   https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014.   The number of families in receipt of Child Tax Credit (CTC) in Wales can be found on Table 1a of the publication ‘Personal tax credits: Finalised award statistics - geographical statistics 2013 to 2014’ available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014.   The number of families in receipt of Child Benefit in Wales can be found on Table 3 of the publication ‘Child Benefit geographical analysis - August 2014’ available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-benefit-geographical-analysis-august-2014.

Child Tax Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people claimed child tax credits in the last year, and how many such people had more than (a) two and (b) three children.

Damian Hinds: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs holds information on tax credits by household, not individuals. The number of families in receipt of Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the tax year 2013-14, and those with two and three or more children, are available on Table 2.2 of the publication ‘Child and Working Tax Credits statistics: finalised annual awards - 2013 to 2014’ here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2013-to-2014

Working Tax Credit: Overpayments

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2015 to Question 579, which experts were involved in the planning process for outsourcing working tax credit debt collection to the private sector; whether any of those experts had a financial interest in the debt collection sector; whether those experts advised HM Revenue and Customs to proceed with the use of private sector debt collection agencies; and whether advice from those experts was provided orally or in writing.

Mr David Gauke: A wide range of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury financial, debt recovery and analysis experts were involved in planning the use of debt collection agencies for tax credit debt as part.   The management of conflicts of interest for Civil Servants is set out in the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total value was of (a) child benefit and (b) child tax credit paid to parents in respect of children not residing in the UK in the most recent year for which data is available.

Damian Hinds: The information is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many awards of (a) child benefit and (b) child tax credit were made to parents in respect of a child not residing in the UK in the most recent year for which data is available.

Damian Hinds: The main purpose of child benefit and the child tax credit is to support families in the UK. Consequently, the rules for these benefits generally do not provide for them to be paid in respect of children who live abroad. Nevertheless, both child benefit and the child tax credit are family benefits under EC Regulation 883/2004. This regulation protects the social security rights of nationals of all member states of the European economic area (EEA), including the UK, and Switzerland when they exercise their rights of free movement under EU law.  As at 31 March 2015, there were 19,579 ongoing child benefit awards under EC Regulation 883/2004 in respect of 32,408 children living in another member state and 7,026 ongoing child tax credit awards under the regulation in respect of 11,762 children living in another member state.   The Government is working with European partners to renegotiate the relevant social security co-ordination rules to remove the requirement to pay Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit in respect of children outside the UK.

Inheritance Tax

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he plans to take (a) widows and widowers and (b) other people out of inheritance tax where the family home is the main asset; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has commitment to take the family home out of inheritance tax for all but the richest with a new transferable main residence allowance of £175,000 per individual in addition to the inheritance tax nil-rate band, which is currently set at £325,000 for individuals.   This creates an effective £500,000 inheritance tax threshold for individuals in certain circumstances. Any unused main residence allowance or nil-rate band for each individual would be transferred to their surviving spouse or civil partner, which is in line with existing principles and means the effective inheritance tax threshold will rise to £1 million in certain circumstances once the policy is introduced.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Richard Burgon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, What estimate he has made of the effect on the public purse of the sale of the Government's stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor has recieved independent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England and from Rothschild that it is in the interests of taxpayers to begin now to sell our stake in RBS. This is the right thing to do for the economy and for British taxpayers, and to ensure the best price possible.

Economic Policy

Michael Fabricant: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to rebalance the economy; and what plans he has to increase economic growth in the Midlands.

Harriett Baldwin: As a Midlands MP myself, I'm delighted that the Chancellor visitied the Midlands on June 1st to announce: his support for an extension of the Birmingham Enterprise Zone; to encourage the cities of the Midlands to come forward with their proposals for an elected Mayor; and to call our region, the Midlands, Britain's engine for growth.

Regional Planning and Development: West of England

Ben Howlett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans for a West of England Powerhouse.

Greg Hands: The deal with Greater Manchester emphasised this Government’s commitment to hand power from the centre to cities.   In May 2015 the Chancellor said his “door is open to any other major city who wants to take this bold step” and take control of its own affairs and access the same mayoral offer.   The Queen’s Speech introduced a Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill which will enable cities to adopt a radical new model of government.

Economic Situation: Lincolnshire

Martin Vickers: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Northern Powerhouse policy on the economy of northern Lincolnshire.

Greg Hands: As a key part of the Northern Powerhouse, in February, the government announced the Long-term Economic Plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, which aims to increase the size of the region’s economy by an extra £13 billion in real terms by 2030.   This will build on the progress seen since 2010, with employment in Yorkshire and the Humber up by 122,000.   This is welcome progress, but we will continue to build a Northern Powerhouse that strengthens all parts of the North of England.

Employment

Richard Graham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of employment.

Damian Hinds: Employment is at its highest ever level - with 31.1 million people in work. Since the 2010 election employment has increased by more than 2 million – meaning that on average 1,000 extra people have become employed every day. The UK now has the 3rd highest employment rate in the G7 a step closer to achieving our full-employment ambition to have the highest employment rate in the G7.

Economic Policy

Robert Jenrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made on his long-term economic plan.

Harriett Baldwin: The government’s long term plan is working: with the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year and the deficit more than halved as a share of GDP. There are more people in work than ever before, unemployment is falling and wages are continuing to rise well above inflation. But the job is not yet done and the government will continue working through the plan to build a resilient British economy and a truly national recovery.

Women and Equalities

Equality Act 2010

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's contribution of 18 March 2015, Official Report, Column 310 WH, when the five-year review of the Equality Act 2010 will begin; what the terms of reference of that review will be; whether a public consultation will be held as part of that review; and when that review is expected to report.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government’s contribution to the five-year review of the Equality Act 2010 is a substantive memorandum intended to facilitate post-legislative scrutiny of the Act, which we aim to publish as a Command paper shortly.The memorandum will provide Parliament with a factual account of developments since the Act received Royal Assent five years ago. This will include a summary of why the Act was introduced, a breakdown of which elements have or have not come into force, a list of associated secondary legislation, a summary of key case law and a preliminary assessment outlining whether the Act is achieving its stated aims. Parliament will consider this information before deciding whether to gather further evidence on how the Act is operating.Further details of the Government’s approach to post-legislative scrutiny is available in the Cabinet Office’s Guide to Making Legislation at www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-making-legislation

Easter: Confectionery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has had discussions with the owners of large stores on their policies on stocking Easter eggs containing Christian or biblical messages.

Caroline Dinenage: Neither the Minister for Women and Equalities nor I have had such discussions.To the extent that this matter may concern equality law, statutory guidance about compliance with equality legislation covering Great Britain is issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It is intended to give businesses and service providers the information they need to understand the law and meet their responsibilities. The guidance can be found at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/services-public-functions-and-associations-statutory-code-practiceSeparate equality legislation applies in Northern Ireland.

Department for Transport

Treasury: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to HM Treasury's press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect on productivity of steps necessary to deliver efficiency savings from his Department's budget.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No specific assessment has been made of the effect of the announced measures on productivity. The Department will continue to deliver efficiency savings wherever possible as part of the Government’s Long Term Economic Plan.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to make a decision on the future shape and boundaries of the Wales and Borders rail franchise.

Claire Perry: In November 2014, the UK Government announced that it had agreed in principle to fully devolve to Welsh Ministers executive rail franchising functions to enable the Welsh Government to lead on the procurement, management and enforcement of the next Wales and Borders franchise. The scope of services which it will be possible for the Welsh Ministers to in future specify for operation by a franchisee has yet to be agreed, though it is anticipated that the devolved passenger rail services will differ in scope from the current Arriva Trains Wales franchise. The Department for Transport and the Welsh Government are working together with an aim to reach final agreement by the end of 2015 on all matters connected with the transfer of executive rail franchising functions and commence the Parliamentary process on the necessary legislation as soon as practicable thereafter.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from his counterpart in the Welsh Government on retaining current routes within the Wales and Borders rail franchise.

Claire Perry: The Department is working closely with the Wales Office and the Welsh Government to implement the in principle devolution agreement reached in November 2014. This will include decisions on any services to be transferred from the Wales and Border franchise following expiry of the current franchise.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on making changes to (a) the routes covered in and (b) other aspects of the Wales and Borders rail franchise before control of that franchise is devolved to the Welsh Government.

Claire Perry: In November 2014, the UK Government announced that it had agreed in principle to fully devolve to Welsh Ministers executive rail franchising functions to enable the Welsh Government to lead on the procurement, management and enforcement of the next Wales and Borders franchise from October 2018. In the interim, the Department for Transport and the Welsh Government will continue to work together under the terms of the existing Joint Parties Agreement that governs the allocation of responsibilities for the current Wales and Borders franchise.

Railways: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which routes and services in the Wales and Borders rail franchise primarily serve English markets.

Claire Perry: The Department is working closely with the Welsh Government and the Wales Office to implement the November 2014 agreement in principle to devolve executive rail franchising functions. This includes work to identify the scope of services in the current Wales and Borders rail franchise that primarily serve English markets and that it is intended will transfer to other Department for Transport franchises.

River Thames: Transport

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment has been made of the effect of level of use of the River Thames for transport on air pollution in London.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of air pollutant emissions from (a) road traffic, (b) aviation and (c) shipping on the air quality of London.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion contribution does (a) road traffic, (b) aviation and (c) shipping make to air pollutant emissions levels in London.

Andrew Jones: Air quality emission levels by mode are only compiled at National level by the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory published at http://naei.defra.gov.uk/data/data-selector, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. This estimates national emissions of Greenhouse Gases and air quality pollutants across all sources, including road traffic, aviation and shipping. Local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing air quality under the Local Air Quality Management system. As part of this assessment London councils undertake additional monitoring. Information can be found on their individual websites. Greater London Authority hold the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, which can be found here: http://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/london-atmospheric-emissions-inventory-2010 .

Electric Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the possible dangers posed to pedestrians by electric vehicles.

Andrew Jones: A study by Transport Research Laboratory for the Department in 2011 found no evidence that quiet vehicles, e.g. electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, represent a greater danger to other road users, including pedestrians, than conventional vehicles. Nonetheless, a new EU regulation dealing with noise from road vehicles was adopted in 2014 and this will require additional sound devices to be fitted to new types of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles launched from 2019.

Driving: Licensing

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what measures he has put in place to ensure that people with a UK driving licence who follow Government advice to destroy their paper counterparts will not be denied car rental abroad.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has engaged with the vehicle rental industry about the abolition of the driving licence counterpart for some time. A comprehensive range of publicity materials was developed to help companies and customers to prepare for the change. This material was also provided to Lease Europe, the European equivalent of the British Vehicle and Rental Leasing Association. The publicity material can be seen at www.dvla.dft.gov.uk/dvla-aoc-toolkit.html Drivers should check with the car hire company they have booked with before they travel about any specific requirements, as the car hire companies themselves have a wide variety of terms and conditions about what information they require. If it is required, drivers can obtain a code which will allow them to share their driving licence details with the car hire company if they wish to do so. The code can be generated online or by telephoning the DVLA. The online service is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Drivers can also print off a copy of their driving licence record.

Department for Transport: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the HM Treasury press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings his Department plans to make to achieve reductions of £545 million in its budget.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Chancellor announced savings amounting to £200 million from the Department’s budget for 2015-16. Much of this is taken from anticipated underspends against existing budgets, and from contingency, and does not mean that any of the affected programmes will be cancelled. In addition, the Chancellor announced the sale of the interests of London and Continental Railways in land at Kings Cross, valued at £345 million.

Plymouth Airport

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the timetable for the inquiry into the viability of Plymouth Airport; and when that report will be published.

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which organisation will be responsible for the inquiry into the viability of the re-opening of Plymouth Airport.

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the terms of reference are for the inquiry into the re-opening of Plymouth Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport is looking at how best to take this study forward and hopes to be in position to announce shortly how this will be undertaken. We recognise the need to consider the views of all stakeholders who have an interest in the site and take to account of previous studies that have been commissioned with regards to Plymouth airport.

Roads: Rural Areas

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce road accidents on rural roads.

Andrew Jones: The Department issued revised speed limit guidance in January 2013 aimed mainly at local authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads where local needs and conditions suggest a speed limit which is lower than the national speed limit. It has been designed to help explain to everyone why and how local speed limits are determined. This circular has been revised following full public consultation in Summer 2012 and can be found online on GOV.UK THINK! launched a new campaign in October 2014 to warn drivers of the dangers of country roads. Details of the campaign can also be found on GOV.UK

Taxis: Exhaust Emissions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the proposed timeframe is for rolling out his Department's £45 million investment in low-emission taxis.

Andrew Jones: In March 2015 the previous Government launched a £20m scheme to support the rollout of ultra-low emission taxis across the UK. In the first phase local authorities were invited to bid for feasibility studies to prepare for use of these taxis in their fleets, with bids due by 12 June 2015. Bids will be considered and the next phase of the scheme announced over the Summer. A further £25 million was set aside specifically for the Greater London Area to help taxi drivers cover the cost of upgrading to a greener vehicle. Our aim is for almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050. The transition to ultra-low emission taxis is especially important to help improve air quality in our towns and cities.

First Transpennine Express: Electrification

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2015 to Question 665, what assessment he has made of the effect on capacity on the TransPennine route of the delay to electrification.

Andrew Jones: The timing of TransPennine electrification does not affect the provision of future capacity on the TransPennine route. To address existing crowding and accommodate future growth, the Department’s specification for the next TransPennine Express franchise requires approximately 45 per cent more seats to be provided in the three-hour morning peak into Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield combined (compared to when the Invitation to Tender was issued to short-listed bidders in February). Bidders were required to set out how they will deliver this increase by December 2018, without relying on electrification of the route. Bids for the future franchise were submitted late last month and are now being evaluated. The outcome of the competition will be announced towards the end of this year.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recently published Civil Aviation Authority statistics on incidence of smoke or fumes in aeroplane cabins.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No such assessments have been made. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) monitors the frequency and severity of such smoke or fume events through the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (MORS). Its objectives are to ensure that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is advised of any hazardous, or potentially hazardous, incidents and defects (occurrences), and that appropriate action is taken.

Pedestrian Areas: Visual Impairment

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account has been taken of the safety of blind and partially sighted pedestrians in the introduction of an ultra-low emission zone in London.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The design of the proposed ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in London is a matter for the Mayor of London. I understand that in designing the ULEZ Transport for London have taken into account new European legislation which will require that ultra-low emission vehicles are fitted with some form of artificial engine sound. This will help ensure that they can be heard by pedestrians and other road users, including people who are blind or partially sighted. The Mayor has said that, by the time the ULEZ is introduced in 2020, European legislation will have ensured that virtually all new electric and hybrid vehicles on sale are fitted with technology which ensures a minimum noise level when driving at low speeds.

Pedestrian Areas: Visual Impairment

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has given to local transport authorities on protecting the safety of blind and partially sighted bus users when (a) placing floating bus stops, (b) closing bus stops and (c) placing temporary bus stops.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to comprehensive civil rights for disabled people. An integrated transport policy, which encompasses accessible public transport, public transport infrastructure and a barrier-free pedestrian environment is fundamentally important to delivering that commitment. Provisions in the Equality Act 2010 require service providers, such as local authorities, to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people do not find it unreasonably difficult to enjoy a service on the same basis as non-disabled people. The DfT has not provided any guidance on protecting the safety of blind and partially sighted bus users when placing floating bus stops or when specifically closing bus stops or placing temporary bus stops. However, our document ‘Safety at Street Works and Road Works’ (a statutory code of practice for utility companies and local highways authorities in England) provides general principles to observe when considering the needs of vulnerable users. It is the responsibility of local authorities to apply these general principles to any works they carry out in the highway, including work on bus stops. The code of practice is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-at-street-works-and-road-works

Pedestrian Areas: Visual Impairment

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will encourage the installation of artificial sound generators on quiet electric and hybrid-electric buses in London to ensure their audibility for the safety of blind and partially-sighted pedestrians.

Andrew Jones: A new EU regulation dealing with noise from road vehicles was adopted in 2014 and this will require additional sound devices to be fitted to all new types of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles from July 2019. This includes new buses and manufacturers may choose to fit them sooner. There are no plans currently to require the devices to be fitted before July 2019. Whether to encourage their fitment in London is a matter for the Mayor of London.

Regional Airports

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government on the economic potential of small airports and their effect on local and business communities.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Secretary of State for Transport has not held discussions with Department for Communities and Local Government ministers on the economic potential of small airports and their effect on local and business communities.

Manston Airport

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of Pricewaterhouse Coopers' final report on the closure of Manston Airport; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Pricewaterhouse Coopers' final report on the closure of Manston Airport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report on the powers available to local authorities to support small airports.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Coalition Government appointed consultants PriceWaterhouse Coopers in March to undertake an independent review of the process on decisions about the future of Manston Airport. PriceWaterhouse Coopers’ report is being finalised and it would not be appropriate at this stage to pre-empt what its findings will be.

Aviation: Fuels

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to provide economic support for the development and the roll-out of sustainable fuel production for the aviation sector.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established a Transport Energy Task Force in September 2014 to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, including through the wider deployment of sustainable biofuel. The Transport Energy Task Force’s report and recommendations were published earlier in March 2015.http://www.lowcvp.org.uk/projects/transport-energy-task-force.htm We are currently considering the recommendations from the task force and our options to deliver greenhouse gas emissions reductions, including possible policy mechanisms to support sustainable low carbon fuels in aviation. We will consult further on changes as necessary, and as part of that formal public consultation process we will set out the proposed timing and next steps for any future changes.

Exhaust Emissions: Greater London

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the proportional contribution of transport to air pollution in London in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones: The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (published at http://naei.defra.gov.uk/data/data-selector ), funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Energy and Climate Change, estimates national emissions of greenhouse gases and air quality pollutants across all sources, including transport. These emissions estimates are updated annually. Local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing air quality under the Local Air Quality Management system. As part of this assessment London Borough Councils undertake additional monitoring. Information can be found on their individual websites. The Greater London Authority maintain the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. The latest version was produced in 2010; estimates of pollutants are included for the base year 2010 and projected forward to 2012, 2015, and 2020. This can be found here: http://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/london-atmospheric-emissions-inventory-2010.

Cycling

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage cyclists to have due regard  for other road users; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Like all road users, cyclists have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner. We encourage road sharing by cyclists through, for instance, the Highway Code, THINK! Cyclist campaign and Bikeability cycle training.

Level Crossings

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made in consulting stakeholders on reform of level crossing legislation; and if he will issue a public consultation on that matter.

Claire Perry: The Department is continuing to develop its response to the Law Commission’s recommendations on the reform of level crossing legislation in conjunction with stakeholders. Our Level Crossing Reform Action Plan, copies of which are available in the House library, explains the steps that we are taking and includes an indicative timetable for completion of this process. The Action Plan notes that we expect to consult on proposals in those areas where we believe further policy and legal investigation was required during the summer.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

European Commission: British Nationality

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals were (a) permanent officials and (b) temporary agents on the staff of the European Commission (i) in each of the last 10 years and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 09 June 2015



The European Commission does not provide staffing numbers by nationality broken down between permanent and temporary agents. In total the numbers of UK nationals employed by the European Commission for each of the last ten years is as follows:October 2005: 1453April 2006: 1449April 2007: 1410April 2008: 1360April 2009: 1337April 2010: 1284April 2011: 1162April 2012: 1134April 2013: 1079April 2014: 1053The latest figure available is for April 2015 and is 1008.In relation to its share of the EU population, the UK has, for many years, been under-represented among the staff of the major EU institutions. In recent years the numbers have decreased as some British officials who were recruited when the UK joined the EEC have retired.Increasing the number of British officials is a priority for the Government. The EU Staffing Unit, established in April 2013, is working to promote EU careers across the UK and support candidates with their application. In the short term, the Unit has increased secondments in positions of strategic importance to the UK. The European Fast Stream within the Civil Service has also been re-launched.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are currently working on renegotiating the UK's relationship with the EU.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 09 June 2015



The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) will lead the negotiations with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), myself, and the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) all playing an important role. Departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, are staffing this appropriately. It is not possible to identify full time equivalent staff numbers because of the wide range of staff who are contributing on an ad-hoc basis.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU (a) in each of the last 10 years and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 09 June 2015



The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has provided details of staffing at posts, including in Brussels, in the Annual Accounts and Reports for 2012/13 and 2013/2014. The latter can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-and-commonwealth-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-14--2. The FCO Annual Accounts and Reports for 2014/2015 will be published later this year.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on the age of suffrage for the referendum on membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and I have received representations on many aspects of the Bill including the franchise. This includes correspondence from Parliamentarians and members of the public.The franchise for the EU referendum is based on the UK Parliamentary franchise with the addition of Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar. This includes those who are 18 or over on the day of the poll and who are either British citizens resident in the UK; qualifying Commonwealth and Irish citizens who are resident in the UK; and British citizens who have lived overseas for fewer than 15 years and were registered to vote before they left the UK.

Raif Badawi

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the punishment of Raif Badawi.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are extremely concerned that Raif Badawi’s sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia. However we understand that this case is under active consideration in the Saudi Supreme Court and we will continue to watch it closely. We have raised this case at the most senior levels bilaterally with the Saudi Arabian government and our officials in Riyadh have discussed it frequently with European, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and US Embassies in Riyadh, including earlier last week.

Raif Badawi

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent conversations he has had with the government of Saudi Arabia on the punishment of Raif Badawi.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have raised Raif Badawi’s case at the most senior levels in the Government of Saudi Arabia, most recently our Ambassador in Riyadh raised this on 9 June. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed this case in February and in March with the Saudi Minister of the Interior, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif, now the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. We understand the case is still under consideration in the Saudi Supreme Court and will continue to watch this case closely.

USA: Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the siting of US nuclear missiles on UK soil; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I have not received any official reports on the siting of US nuclear missiles on UK soil. As The Minister of State for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), stated in the oral answer given on this matter on 9 June 2015, we have received no proposals from the United States to station nuclear armed missiles in the UK.

Middle East: Nuclear Weapons

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the UN Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ended without agreement between the UK, the US and Canada to organise a conference to consider a nuclear-free Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the Member for Southall to the Written Ministerial Statement of 1 June 2015, Official Report, column 9WS, following the conclusion of the Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the dismantlement of Iran's advanced centrifuges has been discussed during nuclear talks between the P5+1 and Iran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It remains the Government’s policy not to comment on the detail of the nuclear negotiations while they are continuing. We - and our partners - recognise the impact of advanced centrifuges on our objective of extending the time it would take Iran to acquire nuclear material for a weapon to at least a year; and have factored this into our approach to the negotiations.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Iran's nuclear enrichment activities.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK and other members of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) receive quarterly reports on Iran's nuclear programme, the IAEA's efforts to address the Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear programme, and the nuclear aspects of the Joint Plan of Action with the E3+3. On 29 May 2015, the IAEA Director General issued his latest report on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme. This confirms Iran continues to implement its commitments under the JPOA.

Pakistan: Blasphemy

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from the government of Pakistan on amendments being made to Pakistan's Blasphemy laws.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We regularly raise our concerns about Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and the need for reform, as well as concerns about specific cases where individuals have been accused of blasphemy. In February 2015 I raised UK concerns about blasphemy laws with a group of visiting Pakistani Parliamentarians. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2014.In December 2014 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister the member for Witney (Mr Cameron) also stressed our concerns about Pakistan’s blasphemy law with Prime Minister Sharif. We will ensure that this issue continues to be raised at the highest levels in Pakistan.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the HM Treasury press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings his Department plans to make to achieve reductions of £20 million in its budget.

Mr David Lidington: The reductions will come through continuing the work we have done to make the Foreign and Commonwealth Office more efficient, with savings in consultancy and running costs, including a reduction in grants to arms length bodies, such as the British Council, along with the removal of our £12 million unallocated contingency fund. This will not affect our core diplomatic activities or the UK’s position as a leading global power. We will maintain our current global network.

China: Muslims

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese government about the treatment of Muslims in the Xinjiang region of that country.

Mr Hugo Swire: We remain concerned by all restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China, including those placed on Muslims. Officials from our Embassy in Beijing carry out regular monitoring visits to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and have observed significant restrictions on the cultural, linguistic, and religious rights of minority communities. They have seen official efforts to discourage certain Islamic dress, and restrictions on the celebration of Ramadan. We have raised our concerns directly with the Chinese government , most recently during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April this year. We have highlighted them in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk), and in the UN Human Rights Council.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will conduct a public consultation on the franchise for the referendum on membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington: The Government introduced the EU Referendum Bill to the House of Commons on 28 May 2015. The franchise for the referendum is based on the longstanding UK Parliamentary franchise, with the addition of Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar. This is an issue of national significance, so it is appropriate that the UK Parliamentary franchise is used.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the inclusion of EU nationals in the franchise for the referendum on membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington: The Government introduced the EU Referendum Bill to the House of Commons on 28 May 2015. The franchise for the referendum is based on the longstanding UK Parliamentary franchise, with the addition of Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar. This is an issue of national significance, so it is appropriate that the UK Parliamentary franchise is used.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the inclusion of 16 and 17 year olds in the franchise for the referendum on EU membership.

Mr David Lidington: The Government introduced the EU Referendum Bill to the House of Commons on 28 May 2015. The franchise for the referendum is based on the longstanding UK Parliamentary franchise, with the addition of Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar. This is an issue of national significance, so it is appropriate that the UK Parliamentary franchise is used.

UN Open-ended Working Group On Ageing

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what preparations his Department has made for the upcoming UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing.

Mr David Lidington: The UK's participation in the July UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing is being coordinated across Whitehall by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The UK will be represented by delegates based in the UK Mission to New York. We will also field a UK expert to take part in the panel discussion on “Ageing in Cities”. We are working closely with EU partners on preparation for the meeting, and have ensured that UK policy is reflected in the EU contribution on proposals to strengthen the protection of the rights of older people. The UK will also contribute to EU statements on each of the panel sessions.

UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role the Government has on the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing; and what representations the Government will be making at the meeting of that group on 14 to 16 July on proposals to strengthen the protection of the rights of older people.

Mr David Lidington: The UK has participated in the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing since the working group was established in 2010, and will take part in the July meeting. The UK will be represented by delegates based in the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York, and we will also field a UK expert for the panel discussion on “Ageing in Cities”. We are working closely with EU partners on preparation for the meeting. We have ensured that UK policy on more effective implementation of existing measures is reflected in the EU contribution on proposals to strengthen the protection of the rights of older people.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on Iran's nuclear programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I most recently discussed Iran's nuclear programme, among other issues, with the Israeli National Security Adviser during his visit on 3-4 June. Officials from the Government of Israel also have regular discussions with our Embassy in Tel Aviv about Iran and the E3+3 negotiations with Iran on its nuclear programme.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on North Korean nuclear experts visiting Tehran.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of media reports that nuclear experts from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) visited Iran this year. If true, these reports are very concerning. We continue to monitor any evidence of nuclear cooperation between these two states, and to support and lead international efforts to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, including the spread of related knowledge and technology.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Gulf on Iran's nuclear programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Ministers and FCO officials regularly engage their counterparts in the Gulf on Iran. This includes discussions of the nuclear negotiations, nuclear-related sanctions and Iran's nuclear programme. We remain committed to reaching a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear programme which will be in the interest of the region and the rest of the world.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of Iran's level of co-operation with International Atomic Energy Agency investigations into its current and previous nuclear activities.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We and other members of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) receive quarterly reports on Iran's nuclear programme, the IAEA's efforts to address the Possible Military Dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programme, and the nuclear aspects of the Joint Plan of Action with the E3+3.The IAEA Director General issued his latest report on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme on 29 May 2015; this confirms Iran continues to implement its commitments under the Joint Plan of Action. However, we remain disappointed by Iran’s limited engagement with the IAEA on Possible Military Dimensions.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on recent comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be denied access to Iran's military facilities and nuclear officials under a nuclear deal; and what assessment he has made of the effect such a stance by Iran would have in the IAEA's ability to verify that country's adherence to a permanent nuclear deal.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of recent media reports of the Supreme Leader’s comments. A comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran that addresses our proliferation concerns will need to be fully verifiable by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This must include robust monitoring of Iran’s nuclear activities, and its implementation of the Additional Protocol, in order to reassure the international community that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether Iran has denied International Atomic Energy inspectors access to its Arak and Parchin facilities.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has monthly access to the reactor at Arak. The IAEA Director General’s 29 May Iran report confirms that Iran continues to abide by its commitments under the Joint Plan of Action. Access for the IAEA to Parchin remains an important but unfulfilled step. The Director General’s report reiterates that clean-up activities at the site are likely to have undermined the Agency’s ability to conduct effective verification, however it is imperative that Iran provides swift access as the Agency continues to request. We fully support their work on this crucial issue.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General in his 29 May report on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme reiterated concerns about the possible existence in Iran of undisclosed nuclear-related activities involving military organisations. We are disappointed by Iran’s limited engagement with the IAEA on this issue, and fully support the IAEA in continuing to pursue the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the proposed verification mechanism to monitor Iran's nuclear programme in a permanent nuclear agreement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The E3+3 and Iran agreed in Lausanne on 2 April that a robust and credible regime for monitoring of the provisions of a comprehensive agreement would be put in place, including implementation of the modified code 3.1 and the Additional Protocol. A comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran that addresses our proliferation concerns will need to be fully verifiable by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to reassure the international community that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of Iran's willingness to agree, implement and adhere to the Additional Protocol as part of an agreement on its nuclear programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The E3+3 and Iran agreed in Lausanne on 2 April that Iran would implement its Additional Protocol under a comprehensive deal. Iran’s implementation of its Additional Protocol will be an important element of a robust and credible verification regime that enables the International Atomic Energy Agency to confirm that Iran is abiding by its nuclear commitments under a comprehensive agreement.

Diplomatic Service: Former Members

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on which dates each former hon. Member has been accommodated in each official residence of a UK Ambassador or High Commissioner since 2007.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: This information is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Diplomatic Service: Former Members

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost has been of accommodating each former hon. Member in official residences of UK Ambassadors and High Commissioners since 2007.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: This information is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Iran's compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1929; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We assess that Iran breached its obligations under UNSCR 1929 by testing ballistic missiles, most recently in February 2015. We continue to call on Iran to comply with its international obligations; and for UN members to enforce the UN sanctions regime.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the status of Iran's ballistic missile programme; and what assessment he has made as to whether that programme has any links to the country's nuclear programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We assess that Iran has an extensive ballistic missile programme, in contravention of UN Security Council Resolutions 1737, 1747, 1803 and 1992. Iran's ballistic missile programme includes missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload. However, we are not aware of any current links between Iran’s ballistic missile programme and nuclear programme.

Rohingya

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the current situation of Rohingya Muslims (a) fleeing Burma and (b) being persecuted in Burma; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: Following the discovery of a mass grave in Thailand containing the bodies of Rohingya on 1 May, and the subsequent crackdown on trafficking networks, the UK lobbied governments in the region to address the urgent humanitarian needs of those stranded at sea. We also lobbied the government of Burma at Ministerial level to take action to address the issue. Our Ambassador in Bangkok attended the international coordination meeting hosted by Thailand on 29 May, and we welcome ASEAN's commitment to discussing the issue further. Now that the crisis is receding, our efforts are focused on addressing the underlying causes of the migration, including the dire living conditions and persecution faced by Rohingya Muslims in Burma. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine State, contributing over £18m to humanitarian relief there. We also regularly raise the underlying political problems and human rights abuses both bilaterally and in international fora, and will continue to do so.

Rohingya

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives from South Asian countries on Rohingya refugees; and what the outcome of those discussions has been.

Mr Hugo Swire: On 20 May, I met the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary to stress the need for Bangladesh to work within the region to address people trafficking and irregular migration. Bangladesh has agreed to accept Bangladeshi migrants back, and this process is already taking place. Long term, there will need to be both a political solution to the status of the Rohingya in Burma, which we are encouraging, and an effective strategy to address the urgent development needs of the region. The UK’s programme in Bangladesh was £190m in 2014/15. By 2015, this programme will help lift 1.5m people out of extreme poverty.

Burma

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the situation in Rakine State, Burma.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 1 June 2015 (PQ 292).

Burma: Rohingya

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the human rights of the Rohingya people in Burma are protected.

Mr Hugo Swire: We remain deeply concerned by the dire living conditions facing the Rohingya people in Rakhine State, which is leading thousands to flee by sea to other countries in the region. It is vital that Burma addresses the longer-term issues which lie at the root of the problem, including the persecution of the Rohingya. The UK is playing its part to resolve the situation in Rakhine State. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine State, contributing over £18m in humanitarian aid there. We will continue raise the underlying political problems and human rights abuses both bilaterally and in international fora.

Israel: Palestinians

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Palestinian counterparts on the levels of incitement to violence against Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We deplore all incitement to violence and raise cases of concern with both the Palestinian and Israeli authorities as required. We have urged the leadership of both the Palestinian and Israeli authorities to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, the type of action and language which will make it more difficult to achieve a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict. The issue of incitement was last raised with the Palestinian Authority in November 2014, due to our concerns over the volatile situation in Jerusalem and to the complaints we had received about a specific letter written by President Abbas. We continue to support Palestinian calls to reinstate the Tripartite Committee as the appropriate channel to deal with allegations of Palestinian or Israeli incitement.

Department for International Development

Palestinians: Humanitarian Aid

Jo Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contribution the UK has made to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in each of the last three years; what contribution the UK plans to make to that Agency for such work in each of the next three years; what the reasons are for changes in the level of those contributions; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK is the third largest donor to UNRWA’s General Fund and we have provided additional funding to UNRWA’s emergency appeals. In 2012/13, our contributions totalled £43.8 million; in 2013/14, we provided £49.8 million, and in 2014/15 we contributed £53.4 million. Our average General Fund contribution was £33 million. In 2015/16, we are providing £30 million to the General Fund plus £8 million for the Syria emergency appeal and £2 million for UNRWA’s work in Gaza. We will continue to review our emergency funding and agree a new multi-year package of support for UNRWA in the months ahead. We will continue to support UNRWA pending a political solution for Palestinian refugees, but the Agency needs to take urgent steps to address its chronic deficit through reform.

Yemen

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen. The UN estimates that over 21 million people (80% of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance; 6 million face severe food shortages; and 1 million have been displaced as a result of the current conflict (2015 Humanitarian Needs Overview for Yemen, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Yemen). It is very difficult for humanitarian agencies to operate due to ongoing insecurity, and a lack of incoming supplies and fuel. Unless current trends are reversed, there is a real risk of a collapse in the country’s health system and severe food and water crises.

International Conference On Financing for Development

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the Government's priorities will be at the UN Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa in July 2015; and what her assessment is of the likely outcome of that conference.

Justine Greening: Holding answer received on 15 June 2015



As a country that has met its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on international development, the UK’s priority for the UN Financing for Development Conference is to provide a solid foundation for the post-2015 summit in September and the climate meeting in December.   Negotiations are still underway and we are working to ensure the UK priorities form a core part of the agenda going forward.

International Conference on Financing for Development

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if the Government will support at the UN Financing for Development conference the creation of a new international tax body under the auspices of the UN.

Justine Greening: Holding answer received on 15 June 2015



The UK is helping developing world countries collect more tax, for example through DFID-funded HMRC teams working in Pakistan and several other countries, and we are ensuring developing countries are participating in international processes, for example they are directly involved in the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) process and efforts by international organisations to produce practical toolkits to help developing countries implement new BEPS standards. We will continue to champion these and other important efforts to reform domestic and international tax systems at the UN Financing for Development conference.

Nepal: Disaster Relief

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the government of Nepal on the introduction of import duty on materials sent in response to the earthquake appeal in that country; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are very concerned about the resumption of import duties on humanitarian relief items in Nepal, which risks impeding the delivery of urgent assistance to highly vulnerable communities. UK officials have been in discussions with the Government of Nepal, lobbying the Chief Secretary and counterparts in the Ministry of Finance for the reintroduction of a customs waiver and are supporting the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in his lobbying efforts. European Ambassadors, including the UK, will be meeting with senior Nepali Ministers this week to request changes to customs regulations while the need for humanitarian supplies remains.

Nepal: Disaster Relief

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received on the effects of the introduction of import duty by the government of Nepal on shipments of aid sent in response to the earthquake appeal; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are very concerned about the resumption of import duties on humanitarian relief items in Nepal, which risks impeding the delivery of urgent assistance to highly vulnerable communities. UK officials have been actively lobbying the Government of Nepal for the reintroduction of a customs waiver and are supporting the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in his lobbying efforts. European Ambassadors, including the UK, will be meeting with senior Nepali Ministers this week to request changes to customs regulations while the need for humanitarian supplies remains.

Burma: Rohingya

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what specific aid her Department is making available for Rohingya Muslims (a) fleeing Burma and (b) being persecuted in Burma.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID provides assessed contribution and core funding to the International Organisation for Migration (IoM) and UNHCR respectively for their work on migration issues and crises. These organisations are coordinating humanitarian responses in the region including in relation to Rohingya Muslims fleeing Burma.At over £18 million since 2012, DFID is one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine, providing over 126,000 displaced and conflict-affected people, including Rohingya, with water and sanitation as well as reducing malnutrition and gender based violence. We also work on community dialogue and reconciliation, and are one of the largest donors to a major rural livelihoods programme in Rakhine.

Department for Education

Further Education: Finance

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to reduce funding for education and training for 16 to 19 year olds.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Decisions about how 16-19 institutions will be funded in the academic year 2016/17 and beyond will be subject to the outcome of the next spending review, which will set the budget for education and other public spending for the coming years.

Further Education: Finance

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's announcement of 4 June 2015, whether there will be a reduction in the provision of education and training for 16-19 year olds.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The savings announced by the Chancellor will come from a variety of measures including expected departmental underspends in demand-led budgets, efficiencies and some small budgetary reductions.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if it is her policy that parents on zero-hours contracts will be eligible for 30 hours a week free childcare under the Government's proposals for free childcare.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The additional free childcare will be available to working parents with three- and four-year-olds. We recognise that many flexible ways of working exist in the modern working environment. Further information on the detail of which parents will qualify will be made available in due course.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Government plans to set for parents to qualify as working parents and be able to access 30 hours a week free childcare under its proposals for free childcare provision.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The additional hours will be available to families where both parents are working (or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family). Further information on the detail of which parents will qualify will be announced in due course.

Children in Care

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve support and training for foster carers and key workers in children's homes on (a) helping children overcome past experiences and (b) building positive relationships with children.

Edward Timpson: New mandatory qualifications for those working in and managing children’s homes were introduced in January 2015. These assess the key workers’ ability to build positive attachments and relationships with children and provide support for children who have experienced harm or abuse. On 6th April, the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 came into force. The regulations introduced new quality standards, ambitious in the outcomes they set out for children in residential care. Staff are being trained and supported to meet the quality standards through a one year implementation programme, funded by the Department for Education.   The government has invested significantly in supporting local authorities to embed evidence based interventions, offering training and support to foster carers, kinship carers, birth parents, residential workers and adopters. These interventions include ‘Keeping foster and kinship carers safe and supported’ (KEEP) and ‘Multidimensional treatment foster care’ (MTFC) which enable foster carers to support children and young people to build on their strengths, address the difficulties in every area of their lives and promote placement stability by building the skills and confidence of carers. Through the Innovation Programme, the Department is also supporting the introduction of the ‘Mockingbird project’, focusing on support for kinship and foster carers looking after adolescents.

Children: Mental Health

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote good mental health among (a) deaf children and young people in mainstream education and (b) such children and young people in other contexts.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government is committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of all children and young people. Mainstream and special schools have a vital role to play in helping to promote good mental health for all their pupils as well as providing early support where mental health problems have been identified. To support them to do this, we have funded the PSHE Association to publish age-appropriate guidance to improve teaching about mental health within PSHE. This will be followed by a set of lesson plans spanning key stages 1-4 which will be available for schools to use by September 2015. More information can be found online here: https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=1435 We recognise that prevalence of mental health problems is greater among deaf children. For children, the impact of deafness on their social & psychological development as well as their communication, literacy and educational achievement can be dramatic. Good mental health is one of the four positive outcomes for all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) that are at the heart of the recent SEND reforms. These reforms created a holistic and responsive approach to meeting the education, health and care needs of disabled children and young people, including those with hearing impairments. For those with more complex needs, including pupils in special schools, statements are being replaced by Education, Health and Care Plans. These are intended to cover the full range of the child or young person’s needs, including consideration of their mental health and wellbeing. This is to recognise the interaction between the issues they face and the need for joined up support. Children and young people should be involved in developing their EHC plan to ensure that their ambitions and the things that are important to them are reflected. The statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25 Where mental health needs are identified it is important that suitable effective provision can be made. The Department of Health has begun identifying and taking forward actions on how we can provide therapeutic support to deaf people. In the meantime, Clinical Commissioning Groups are expected to recognise the importance of commissioning mental health services that are accessible to British Sign Language users and deaf people more generally.

Schools: Finance

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of whether the budget allocations to (a) local authority maintained schools and (b) schools receiving funding from the Education Funding Agency for 2015-16 and are projected to receive in 2016 and 2017 will be sufficient to fund (i) increases to employer's contributions to teachers' and support staff's pensions, (ii) increases in teachers' and support staff's salaries and (iii) other costs.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government is committed to protecting the schools budget, and will ensure that the funding schools receive increases as pupil numbers increase. On current pupil number forecasts, there will be a real-terms increase in the schools budget in this parliament. We will look carefully at the impact of changes in schools’ costs when making plans for education spending in 2016-17 and onwards, and will continue to provide information and guidance to help schools improve their efficiency and manage their finances.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the terms of reference and timescale are of the Government's planned review into the funding rate of free childcare for three and four year olds.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government has committed to increasing the average rate that providers are paid for the entitlement and in order to deliver this I can confirm that a cross-Government review of the cost of providing childcare is underway.   The objective of the review is to inform decisions on the level of funding providers require to deliver quality childcare provision at good value to the taxpayer, and to be consistent with the government’s fiscal plans.   A call for evidence to inform the review was launched on 15 June and will close on 10 August. This is part of a process of gathering the necessary evidence which will inform the outcome of the review and will report in the autumn.   The call for evidence is available here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/cost-of-providing-childcare-review-call-for-evidence

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many local authority areas do not have the capacity to expand the provision of childcare from 15 hours to 30 hours; and what steps the Government plans to take in those areas to provide such capacity.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The childcare market is growing and there are around 230,000 more childcare places than in 2009. We have supported this expansion with changes made to reduce bureaucracy, helping schools to provide places and, by enabling the setting up of childminder agencies. This new entitlement provides an opportunity for further growth for existing childcare providers to expand and for new providers to enter the market, helping to build a stronger economy and give parents increased choice.   We have a sensible delivery timetable that gives the market time to expand and adapt, as we know will be necessary. Full roll-out of the entitlement is scheduled for September 2017, and our approach will be informed by the experiences of pilot areas in 2016.   We are working with the sector to better understand the scale of the challenge and intend to consult with parents and providers in due course. We are in the process of undertaking a review of the cost of provision and have committed to increasing the average funding rate providers receive, which will help the sector to grow.

Further Education: Finance

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans reductions in spending on education and training for 16 to 19 year olds in order to implement the decision announced on 4 June 2015 to reduce the funding of her Department.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The savings announced by the Chancellor will come from a variety of measures including expected departmental underspends in demand-led budgets, efficiencies and some small budgetary reductions.

Health Education: Mental Illness

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on strategies adopted by secondary schools to educate young people in coping with poor mental health and suicidal thoughts.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We recognise that schools have a vital role to play in helping to promote good mental health for all their pupils, as well as providing early support where mental health problems have been identified. It is important that schools can develop approaches to supporting pupils which suit their particular circumstances. While we do not collect information on the approaches taken, the department has produced a number of pieces of guidance which reflect practice in schools.   We are providing nearly £5m in funding this year to a number of voluntary and community sector projects supporting the mental health needs of children and young people, as well as supporting Childline, which provides a free 24-hour, UK wide counselling service supporting young people with issues causing distress or concern, including suicidal feelings. We also funded the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Association to produce guidance to improve teaching about mental health in PSHE in March 2015. More information can be found online here: https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=1435   In June 2014 we issued advice on mental health and behaviour which clarifies the responsibility of the school, points to tools that can be used to help them identify pupils that may be experiencing a mental health problem and outlines what they can do to provide a stable environment that builds good mental health in all pupils. This advice can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2 The cross-government suicide prevention strategy was published in September 2012. The objectives are to reduce suicide and support people bereaved or affected by suicide. Much of the planning and work to prevent suicides is carried out locally. It is for local agencies, including working through health and wellbeing boards, to decide the best way to achieve the overall aim of reducing the suicide rate.

Health Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the prevalence of good quality drug and alcohol education in England and Wales.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has provided to schools on the provision of (a) alcohol and (b) drugs education; and whether such guidance requires the specific mention of new psychoactive substances.

Edward Timpson: Drugs education is a statutory part of the new national curriculum for science. Pupils should be taught about the effects of recreational drugs, including substance misuse (including alcohol), on behaviour, health and life processes. Teaching in this area can be further strengthened through PSHE education.   Effective drug and alcohol education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe. Schools have access to specific information about drugs and alcohol, including resources via the PSHE Association:  www.pshe-association.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=1027

Social Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the quality of social work services provided to local authorities by outsourced bodies.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring the quality of all their children’s social care functions, and remain accountable for the quality of all such provision should they choose to delegate such functions to a third party provider. Ofsted inspect all local authority provision, including any providers to which functions are delegated. The Secretary of State for Education can, and does, intervene using her discretionary powers under the Education Act 1996 (as applied by section 50 of the Children Act 2004), should any such provision fall below expected standards.

Social Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the reasons were for ceasing Ofsted inspections of children's social care services provided by outsourced bodies.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring the quality of all their children’s social care functions, and remain accountable for the quality of all such provision should they choose to delegate such functions to a third party provider. Ofsted inspect all local authority provision, including any providers to which functions are delegated. Under the Deregulation Act 2015, however, providers of children’s social care services no longer have to register with Ofsted before functions may be delegated. This removes duplication, while in no way lessening the protections in the system. It removes a duty from Ofsted, removes a burden from social work providers and reduces cost.

Vocational Guidance

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for improving the provision of and access to careers guidance.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We want to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to reach their potential and leave education with the skills to succeed in modern Britain. This includes improving the extent and quality of careers guidance by encouraging greater collaboration between schools and colleges and employers. Further information is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools The Chancellor made available £20 million to support improvements in this area in the Autumn Statement. A new Careers and Enterprise Company is on track to increase the level of employer input into schools and colleges, helping young people to access the best advice and inspiration. It will manage a network of enterprise advisers who will assist schools and colleges in choosing effective careers and enterprise organisations to partner with and welcome by stakeholders. This will result in more stimulating and improved activity in areas where current provision is poorest.We have established a clear accountability system. Revised guidance clarifies our expectations of schools and colleges in relation to their duty to secure independent careers guidance and will take effect from September 2015. Ofsted is giving a higher priority to careers guidance in school inspections. We publish destination measures which help schools and colleges to be held to account locally and inform choices by parents and students.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her proposals for teaching sexual consent in schools will be compulsory for students in all state-funded schools.

Edward Timpson: Good quality sex and relationship education is a vital part of preparing young people for life in modern Britain. Our statutory guidance makes it clear that it must be taught in an age appropriate way. Sex and relationship education (SRE) is compulsory in maintained secondary schools and academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. When teaching SRE, all schools must have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory guidance. The guidance ensures young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour, and makes clear that pupils should learn how the law applies to sexual relationships. The guidance also compels schools to give young people a clear understanding of the arguments for delaying sexual activity and resisting pressure.   The PSHE Association has developed non-statutory guidance for schools when teaching about the topic of consent, which was published in March 2015 and can be found at www.pshe-association.org.uk. The department strongly welcomes this guidance.  The department believes that head teachers and their staff are best-placed to decide what resources and guidance to use to teach pupils about keeping safe and preparing for life in modern Britain.

Schools: Standards

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many maintained schools which were found to be inadequate since the introduction of the new inspection descriptors have remained as maintained schools; and how many such schools have been converted to academy status.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the Hon Member with the information requested. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House library.

Leader of the House

Psychoactive Substances Bill (HL)

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to arrange for the Psychoactive Substances Bill to be debated before the summer recess.

Chris Grayling: Future business to be debated before the summer recess will be announced in the usual way.

Devolution: England

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will include in his proposals on English votes for English laws details of the proposed process of certification for a piece of legislation as English-only.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will state in his proposals on English votes for English laws whether the Government plans to propose changes to the standing orders of the House of Lords to prevent Lords from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland voting on England-only matters.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will make it his policy that legislation with Barnett formula consequential implications will always be considered by the whole House.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will clarify in his proposals on English votes for English laws, whether hon. Members for constituencies in Scotland would be able to vote on the second and third readings of a bill but not at committee stage.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Leader of the House, if he will include in his proposals on English votes for English laws an assessment of the potential opportunities for legal challenge to a decision that a particular piece of legislation is England-only.

Chris Grayling: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 June 2015 to Question UIN 1927

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bees

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) threats to and (b) steps necessary to address the decline of British bees; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra recognises the importance of pollinators, including bees, and their value to food security and sustaining the natural environment. This is why Defra committed to producing the National Pollinator Strategy (NPS) (www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pollinator-strategy-for-bees-and-other-pollinators-in-england).To help inform the NPS, Defra commissioned a report published in July 2014 on the ‘Status and Value of Pollinators and Pollination Services’ (http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=18916#RelatedDocuments). The report reviewed evidence on threats to pollinators and served to highlight the many pressures which pollinators face. A loss of flower-rich habitat is considered to be the likely primary cause of the recorded decline in diversity of wild bees and other pollinating insects. Another key finding was the uncertainty that remains over population levels. Addressing such key gaps in our understanding is one of the key aims of the NPS. Defra has commissioned a research project to develop a national pollinator monitoring framework to detect changes in pollinator populations in the future.The NPS, published in November 2014, forms a framework for collective action to help manage and raise awareness of the pressures facing pollinators. To raise public awareness a ‘Call to Action’, “Bees’ Needs: Food and a Home” (www.wildlifetrusts.org/Bees-needs) was launched in July 2014. This is a simple message on the essential needs of pollinators and how to fulfil them.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ban wild animals from performing in circuses.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 2 June 2015, PQ UIN 416.

Fish

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will conduct an assessment on the effect on salmon and sea trout stocks of an increase in the bass stock.

George Eustice: The Government has no plans to conduct an assessment on the effect on salmon and trout stocks of such an increase, but previous studies show that salmon have a number of predators including pike, cod, sea trout and bass. Current assessment of the EU bass stocks indicate a rapidly declining biomass due to an extended period of poor reproduction and increasing fishing mortality. There is no obvious correlation between bass predation and salmon stocks since both have been declining.

Ivory

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what legislative proposals her Department plans to bring forward to implement a total ban on ivory sales in the UK.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to implement a total ban on ivory sales.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on a total ban on ivory sales in the UK and internationally.

Rory Stewart: The UK has played a leading role in galvanising international action to combat the illegal wildlife trade, and in pressing for a total ban on ivory sales we will work with our international partners and interested parties at home to seek their views about how we best achieve this and over what timeframe.The Government is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in raw ivory. In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.We also warmly welcome the recent indications from the Government of China that it intends in due course to close its legal domestic market for ivory. This will remove a key driver of the demand which in turn fuels the continued poaching that is currently resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of elephants every year.

Climate Change Convention

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what role her Department is playing in preparations for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Paris in December 2015.

Rory Stewart: The Department of Energy and Climate Change is leading the Government’s preparations for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Paris, in December this year. Defra is actively supporting those preparations towards achieving an ambitious global agreement on climate change.

Food: Waste

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle food waste in supermarkets.

Rory Stewart: Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme the Government is working with food manufacturers and retailers, including all the major UK supermarkets, to meet targets to reduce food waste from households and the grocery supply chain under the Courtauld Commitment.Signatories reported a reduction of 7.4% in food supply chain waste since 2010 (there are also targets on household food waste and packaging waste). The third phase targets a further 1.1 million tonnes of food and packaging waste reduction by the end of 2015.

Flood Control: Finance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the grant in aid allocation is for new flood defence assets for each year from 2014-15 to 2020-21.

Rory Stewart: Defra has committed to a six-year programme of £2.3 billion capital investment for new and improved defences up to 2021. This is profiled as follows: 2015/16£395 million2016/17 £395 million2017/18£405 million2018/19£410 million2019/20£365 million2020/21£375 million

Air Pollution: EU Law

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what date she expects the UK to be compliant with the Air Quality Directive.

Rory Stewart: Revised air quality plans for nitrogen dioxide will be published by the end of 2015. A 40 day public consultation on draft plans will be held later this year. The Government is committed to complying in the shortest possible time with limit values for nitrogen dioxide under the Air Quality Directive. The consultation will set out our projected dates for UK compliance.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Department for Energy and Climate Change: Cost Effectiveness

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the HM Treasury press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings her Department plans to make to achieve reductions of £70 million in its budget.

Andrea Leadsom: Across government, the savings for 2015-16 announced on 4 June 2015 are being achieved through further efficiency savings, tighter control of budgets to drive underspends in year, and driving through asset sales.There are three areas where DECC will make savings:£10M will be realised by driving out underspends from existing contracts, for example because inflation is now lower than when costs were forecast.£20M will be found through underspends in the Department’s arms-length bodies (ALBs).£40M will be saved from our programme of energy-efficiency subsidy while we consider the right long-term framework for the home-energy-efficiency market.The government is getting on with the job of repairing the public finances, and to run a surplus in this Parliament. This will create the best conditions for sustainable growth.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Harry Harpham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to prevent the funding for new nuclear power stations being linked to the supply of technology from Chinese companies; and if she will make a statement.

Harry Harpham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the benefits of ensuring that any deal with foreign investors on the funding of new nuclear power stations is independent from the manufacture and supply of the components required to build that infrastructure.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK welcomes high quality overseas investment in the UK and the safe and economic development of nuclear power. It is the responsibility of the developers of new nuclear power stations to source components for the plant, in line with the UK’s robust nuclear regulatory regime. This regime requires the highest standards in safety and security to be met by developers and their technology providers. Quality assurance of all components for a nuclear power station are included within this regime.The Government has made its policy clear in discussion with developers, that UK content to the supply chain should be maximised and is hence working closely with them to identify further UK opportunities in support of this. The Government also has supplier development and improvement programmes (Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and Fit for Nuclear (F4N)) in place to help the UK supply chain better position itself to bid for these opportunities.

Nuclear Power Stations: Bradwell-on-Sea

Harry Harpham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the possibility of a Chinese state company building a new reactor at the Bradwell nuclear site.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has had no discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the possibility of a Chinese state company building a new reactor at the Bradwell nuclear site.

Wind Power

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the investment value of projects which are in the onshore wind development pipeline.

Andrea Leadsom: Onshore wind has made a valuable contribution to the UK energy mix in recent years and we are confident that it will make its expected contribution to the UK’s carbon reduction and renewables targets. However, the Government is committed to ending new subsidies for onshore wind as soon as possible; in doing so, we will consider carefully the impact on investments affected by the measures that we bring forward.

Energy: Meters

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2015 to Question 904, what milestones her Department has set for the roll-out of smart meters.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC has put an obligation on energy suppliers to take all reasonable steps to roll out smart electricity and gas meters to all residential and smaller non-domestic consumers by the end of 2020. Ofgem is requiring large suppliers to submit rollout plans from 2016 that will become binding and enforceable annual milestones.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the financial position of (a) EDF Energy and (b) Areva in relation to their potential contribution to the construction and running of the planned nuclear power plant at Hinkley C.

Andrea Leadsom: Whilst this is a commercial matter for the companies we continue to monitor the situation. We remain confident in the Hinkley Point C project – EDF plans for the power station to start producing low-carbon electricity from 2023.

Energy: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government has taken to reduce energy use in York Central constituency by the (a) public and (b) private sector.

Andrea Leadsom: We have a wide range of complementary policies in place to support public and private sector organisations of all sizes in reducing their energy use – including in the York Central constituency. For instance, the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme is estimated to help large private sector organisations save over £250m per year through identifying cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities.Across the domestic and non-domestic sector, UK energy consumption has fallen in nine of the last ten years and our energy efficiency policies have contributed to the UK having the least energy intensive economy in the G7 – 33% below the G7 average in 2012.

Housing: Energy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many homes have been retrofitted to reduce energy use in the last 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom: Since April 2008, 5.8 million properties have received loft insulation, 3.1 million properties have received cavity wall insulation and 229,000 properties have received solid wall insulation through Government schemes. Figures prior to April 2008 are not held centrally.Updated figures covering retrofit installations up to end March 2015 will be published on 18 June 2015 at 9:30am.Source: Insulation levels in Great Britain, Quarterly report (Table 2.2a):https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britainquarterly-report-to-december-2014.

Energy: Meters

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the smart metering communications infrastructure managed by the Data and Communications Company to begin operation.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has set a date of April 2016 in the licence of the Data and Communications Company (DCC) to begin operation. The Government has also made available up to six months of contingency which will be strictly governed by the Department, to enable the DCC’s systems and services to come together with the energy companies’ systems and processes in a co-ordinated start to the main installation stage. The Government has advised energy suppliers and network companies to use August 2016 as a central planning assumption for the start of DCC operations.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make the Warm Home Discount available to social housing tenants who purchase energy through collective schemes provided by a housing association and do not receive individual bills directly from the power provider.

Andrea Leadsom: The Warm Home Discount scheme is established in regulations until March 2016. This is a major scheme that costs more than £300 million per year and reaches some 2 million households per year. In order to be delivered successfully, the scheme requires simple and clear rules. These include a basic requirement for customers to be named on an electricity account held with a participating supplier.

Wales Office

Devolution: Wales

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he plans to publish the proposed Wales Bill.

Stephen Crabb: I intend to publish a draft Wales Bill in the autumn for pre-legislative scrutiny.

Ministry of Justice

Human Rights Act 1998

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2015 to Question 368, what discussions he has had with the (a) Scottish Executive, (b) Welsh Executive and (c) Northern Ireland Executive on the Government's plan to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Dominic Raab: We will consider the implications of a Bill of Rights on devolution as we develop our proposals. However, we have made it clear that we will, of course, fully engage with the devolved administrations.

Human Rights: Northern Ireland

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2015 to Question 368, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland on the Government's plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and its implications for the existing devolution settlement in Northern Ireland.

Dominic Raab: We will consider the implications of a Bill of Rights on devolution as we develop our proposals. We have made it clear that we will, of course, fully engage with the devolved administrations. In addition, we will be engaging with relevant European partners.

Human Rights

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2015 to Question 368, whether the Government's proposed British Bill of Rights will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny.

Dominic Raab: The Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. The UK has a proud tradition of respect for human rights which long pre-dates the 1998 Human Rights Act. The 1998 Act opened the system to abuse, which has damaged the credibility of human rights.We will bring forward proposals for a British Bill of Rights, which will replace the Human Rights Act. Our Bill will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore common sense to the system.We will fully consult on our proposals before introducing legislation.

Road Traffic Offences

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects his Department's review of driving offences to report.

Andrew Selous: Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones, which is why tough sentences are available to the courts. The previous Secretary of State established a review of these issues. Ministers will consider any findings of the review and set out their position in due course.

Bill of Rights Commission

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of the Commission on a Bill of Rights between 18 March 2011 and 18 December 2012.

Dominic Raab: As reported in the Commission’s final report, which was published on 18 December 2012 and can be found at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/cbr, its total expenditure was approximately £700,000.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Translation Services

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much HM Courts and Tribunal Service has spent on translators in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mr Shailesh Vara: We have taken translators as Face to Face interpreters, Written Translators and Telephone Interpreters. Please see below the costs breakdown by service provided and total cost that HMCTS have spent on the Capita-TI contract for the last three years: Total2012-20132013-20142014-2015FTF£12,075,110£16,040,076£17,214,294Translation£42,723£27,196£34,824ITI£14,904£17,140£12,581Total£12,132,737£16,084,412£17,261,699 Before 2012, courts arranged interpreter contracts on an individual basis. The Government has taken steps to ensure the system provides value for taxpayers by agreeing a national contract. Demand for these services has grown as awareness increases amongst court and tribunal users. Since we introduced a new interpreting contract in 2012 we have spent £38.2m less on language service fees.

Euthanasia

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on legalising assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill or are permanently and incurably suffering.

Mike Penning: The Government believes that any change to the law in this area is an issue of individual conscience and a matter for Parliament to decide rather than one for Government policy.

Employment Tribunals Service: Judges

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost of employing (a) salaried employment tribunal judges and (b) lay employment tribunal judges was in each administrative region of the employment tribunal in each of the last five years.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The total cost of employing salaried employment tribunal judges and lay employment tribunal judges are set out in the table below. It should be noted that the salaried judge cost includes employer related national insurance and pension contributions, whereas for Lay Members, NI contributions information cannot be separated from the contributions data of fee paid judges in the Employment Tribunal , so have been assumed in line with planning assumptions at 8% . Lay members do not receive employer pension contributions.   HMCTS does not hold data by UK administrative regions and its own internal regions have changed during the past five years so are not comparable.   YearSalaried Judicial CostLay Member FeesLay Member Accruing Superannuation Liability Charges @ 8%Total Lay Member Cost2010-1123.08.20.78.92011-1222.39.70.810.52012-1321.74.80.45.22013-1422.94.80.45.22014-1523.43.70.34.0Figures in £M

Youth Custody: Learning Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young people held in youth custody have been identified as having learning difficulties.

Andrew Selous: The needs of young people entering custody are often complex. Data is not held centrally on the total number of young people in custody who have been identified as having learning difficulties. Data is available, however, on the number of young people in custody who have been identified by their Youth Offending Team (YOT) as having a “learning disability or difficulty including Special Educational Needs (SEN)”. Table 1 shows that of the 1,125 young people in youth custody on 1 May 2015, 340 (30%) were identified by the YOT as having a “learning disability or difficulty including SEN”. Table 1: Number of young people in youth custody on 1 May 2015 identified by the YOT as having a "learning disability or difficulty including SEN". Young people identified as having a “Learning disability or difficulty including SEN”Yes340No733Don’t Know37Missing15Total1,125 Notes:1. The report includes 18 year olds in youth custody on the snapshot dates.2. This data only captures young people identified as having a “learning disability or difficulty including SEN” at the point they entered custody and does not include young people identified after they entered custody.3. The data is from the monthly eAsset Data Extract report which includes data on Key Placement Factors. Data is extracted on the 1st of each month or the closest Friday where the 1st falls on a weekend. This is an operational report and therefore its integrity is not as high as publishable data. Measures introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014 to strengthen support for young people in custody with special educational needs came into effect in April 2015. A home local authority maintaining an Education Health and Care Plan for a young person must arrange the special educational provision set out in the Plan for the young person while they are detained, and a custodial establishment or the detained person or parent can request a local authority to undertake an Education Health and Care assessment while a young person is detained. The custodial establishment must co-operate with local authorities to make sure these duties are fulfilled while a young person is in custody.

Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of incidents in which restraint was used in each secure training centre in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: Restraint must only be used against young people as a last resort where it is absolutely necessary to do so and where no other form of intervention is possible or appropriate. Significant improvements have been made to restraint practice in recent years, including the introduction of the ‘Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint’ (MMPR) system. The system was independently assessed by an expert panel and is in the final stages of being rolled out across all Secure Training Centres (STCs) and under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). Statistics on the number of incidents of Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) are provided by secure estate sector in Chapter 8 of the Youth Justice Statistics publication, published annually in January: (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-annual-statistics-2013-to-2014). The number of incidents of RPI in STCs fell between 2010 and 2014. Table 1 shows the total number of incidents of RPI recorded in each STC since January 2010. Table 1: Number of incidents of RPI in STCs, 2010 to 2014Secure Training Centre20102011201220132014Hassockfield553537504631407Medway256284202133166Oakhill222173166197344Rainsbrook319387205381396STC Total1,3501,3811,0771,3421,313 1. Restrictive Physical Intervention is defined as any occasion when force is used with the intention of overpowering or to overpower a young person. Over power is defined as “restricting movement or mobility”.  This data is taken from monthly returns supplied to the YJB by custodial establishments. Figures from April 2014 onwards are provisional and will be finalised when the 2014/15 Youth Justice Statistics are published in 2016. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Youth Custody

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which institutions accommodate young people aged 14 years or younger; and how many such children are accommodated at each such site.

Andrew Selous: Young people aged 14 and under who are sentenced to or remanded in custody are placed in either Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs) or Secure Training Centres (STCs). SCHs accommodate young people aged 10 and over, and STCs accommodate young people aged 12 and over. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) makes placement decisions on the basis of individual need, taking account of factors such as risk of harm to self and others, health (including mental health and substance misuse), learning, emotional and social difficulties, welfare and resettlement needs. Statistics on the number of young people in custody by age are published in the monthly youth custody report (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-custody-data) and annually in the Youth Justice Statistics publication (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-annual-statistics-2013-to-2014). The number of young people aged 14 and under in custody fell by 54% between 2010/11 and 2014/15. Table 1 shows the establishments commissioned by the YJB for the placement of young people aged 14 or younger and the number of children aged 14 years or younger at each site, as of 1 May 2015. The YJB commissions places in secure accommodation for young people sentenced or remanded by the courts, therefore Secure Children's Homes data only contains figures for these types of placements. Table 1: The Number of children aged 14 years or younger in each establishment on 1st May 2015Establishment TypeEstablishment NameNumber of children aged 14 years or younger on 1 May 2015Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs)Adel Beck5Aldine House0Aycliffe4Barton Moss5Clayfields2Hillside0Lincolnshire3Swanwick4Vinney GreenSCH Total831Secure Training Centres (STCs)Medway8Oakhill6RainsbrookSTC Total519  The information comes from the YJB's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS) database and eAsset database. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Scotland Office

Royal Bank of Scotland

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the statement by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury of 10 June 2015, if he will take steps to (a) ensure the Royal Bank of Scotland continues to meet the commitments in its 14 Point Customer Charter and (b) prevent the closure of Royal Bank of Scotland branches in Invergordon, Lochinver and Lybster.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Constituencies

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2015 to Question 262, how his Department's estimate that reducing the number of Parliamentary constituencies from 650 to 600 would result in savings to the public purse of £13.6 million a year has been calculated.

John Penrose: Information on the projected savings can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA12-017.pdf

House of Lords: Reform

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on bringing forward legislation on House of Lords reform during the course of the current Parliament.

John Penrose: The Government believes that there remains a strong case for introducing an elected element into the second chamber, but does not see this as a priority for this Parliament.

Electoral Register

Harry Harpham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase electoral registration.

John Penrose: Over £14 million has been invested over the last two financial years to support the completeness and accuracy of the register, including in the run up to the General Election.The Electoral Commission is due to publish an analysis of the electoral registers used for these elections in June and the Government will consider further steps in the light of this report.

Absent Voting

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many postal votes were rejected nationally at the 2015 General Election; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people whose postal vote was rejected on that occasion will not encounter the same problem in the future.

John Penrose: The Government does not collate such information centrally.In the previous Parliament, the Government legislated to require Electoral Registration Officers to write out to postal voters whose ballot papers were not included in the count because details on their postal voting statement could not be verified. These notifications give an explanation for the rejection and should be sent in the three months immediately following the poll.

Working Mothers

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the maternal employment rate for women with at least one child under the age of (a) two, (b) three and (c) four years in each year since 2010.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Maternal Employment Rate
(PDF Document, 408.34 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Rugby

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what grants and loans his Department has made available to support the development of grassroots rugby league in the last five years.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of grassroots rugby league across the UK.

Tracey Crouch: Since 2010 Sport England has invested £32.8 million of National Lottery and Grant-in-Aid funding in the Rugby Football League, local rugby league clubs and community projects to support the development of grassroots rugby league. Rugby League’s Whole Sport Plan funding is now a mix of investment in the RFL and in club foundation community projects.

UN Convention for Protection of Cultural Property in Event of Armed Conflict

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy that the UK will ratify the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Mr Edward Vaizey: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport places great importance on the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and will make the case to ministerial colleagues for introducing the necessary legislation to allow UK ratification at the earliest opportunity.